Loo and behold: inventive use of new technology makes these Brazilian unisex lavatories luminous and ethereal

Architectural Review, The, March, 2004 by Mary Sturges

Lavatories are becoming increasingly strange as technology radically alters the qualities of traditional materials. Indeed, they sometimes seem to have become the focus of exploration of transparency, opacity, privacy and public life.

Marcelo Sodre's loo for the press and media at his exhibition space at the Casa Cor in Sao Paulo is 6m square in plan and 4m high. Unisex (Brazil is liberal and generous about such matters), the lavatory has four water closets, no urinals and three wash basins. All is minimal. The water closets themselves are in cubicles with glass walls covered by frosted film, while the walls behind them are clad in stainless steel. Video projectors throw images onto the front walls of the cubicles, converting them into large screens. The images can be seen from both sides, but they and the frosted coating provide privacy for the occupants. Very dark brown, almost black, was chosen for the colour of the porcelain with the aim of reducing reflections.

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Both entrance wall and the one that faces it are clad in a form of black, slightly textured wood particle board; the floor is of dark timber, and counters are made of solid native Brazilian hardwood. Some of the strangest things in the place are the looking glasses over the wash basins. These are not ordinary mirrors, but LCD screens onto which are projected images of the users taken by hidden tiny cameras. The effect is slightly disturbing, but, oddly, it adds to the luminous calm of the space.

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