September 20, 2011

My favorite public bathroom


in Chicago is in IIT’s McCormick Tribune Campus Center, designed by Rem Koolhaas and OMA. I’ve loitered in it twice within 24 hours — and I’m staying and working three miles north of IIT.

I think Deron wants to move in. Whether into the bathroom or the Center generally, I’m not sure.


Women’s restroom. McCormick Tribune Campus Center, Illinois Institute of Technology. Chicago.


Interior. McCormick Tribune Campus Center, Illinois Institute of Technology. Chicago.

posted by in architecture, beauty, design, interior design | * | 10 comments 

comments

  1. Erica on September 20th, 2011 at 11:39 am

    I would happily live in this building, too. It is the one building that looks great from the El.

  2. Sheila Ryan on September 20th, 2011 at 11:46 am

    You bet, Erica. I love riding through the tube almost as much as I like loitering in the bathroom.

  3. Deron Bauman on September 20th, 2011 at 11:50 am

    Oh, damn. Between the tube and the bathrooms, it’s a toss up.

  4. Erica on September 20th, 2011 at 12:01 pm

    We can all take turns. Shelia and I would make good El urchins, right?

  5. Casey Cichowicz on September 20th, 2011 at 1:49 pm

    Very nice. I like the reachable-height flush handle, too.

  6. jan on September 20th, 2011 at 1:53 pm

    maybe there should be a ‘show us yr fave public wr’ thread here!

  7. Sheila Ryan on September 20th, 2011 at 2:01 pm

    Casey? That handle? UP for ‘liquid waste’ and DOWN for ‘solid waste’.

    Jan, I imagine much would depend on people’s priorities. What they seek. You know.

  8. Casey Cichowicz on September 20th, 2011 at 2:12 pm

    Oh, nice (re: handle operation).

    When I was very young, and we lived in Germany (and thus traveled a lot to new locations) I wanted to write a coffee table book called “Toilets of Europe”. But I was lazy, I guess, and never really owned a camera till I was older. I was kind of fascinated with the different flushing mechanisms. You know, pull chains, foot levers, oh my!

  9. Sheila Ryan on September 20th, 2011 at 2:30 pm

    Casey, you really must do this. We must raise funds.

    Oh, and you know what, y’all? I just realized I’ve not even been in the men’s bathroom in that campus center.

    I’m in Chicago for the week, so I’ll try to check it out and report back.

  10. Jackson Ryan on September 20th, 2011 at 10:26 pm

    The bathrooms in the recently built architecture school building at Cornell University designed by Rem Koolhaas features an interestingly designed bathroom. It is a continuing S shape wall in the center of a massive oval room. To the right, the men’s, to the left, the women’s. In every concavity of the “S” shape of the wall, the toilet/ urinal is placed.

    So essentially, you are sitting by the opposite sex when taking a break on the white bowl.

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