Toodle-loo

Restroom, smallest room, ladies, gents. If the language of lavatories skirts the issue, then so too does the design. Few loos get the treatment lavished on top-line interiors, while public loos fall further behind in design investment. BAA, then, can rightly be proud of its far from bog standard loos, or ‘new concept in passengers’ airport experiences’, as the publicity puts it. Ease of installation, cleaning, and the avoidance of silicon sealant are understandable priorities for the airport operator which processes millions of passengers every week. Another objective was off-site construction – which reduces installation time – and modularity, so that the design works in differently shaped locations. Product designer Factory Design created the new look, which features a new basin with an integral 90mm splashback. There are also bright colours and big-scale wall graphics that can be tuned to the different personalities of different airports, plus floor- and ceiling-level lighting that helps ‘elevate’ the appearance. ‘We wanted to make the environment brighter and easier to clean,’ says Peter Tennent, a director at Factory whose past projects include the last-flown interiors of Concorde. ‘It also had to be robust. Airport wear and tear is unlike almost every other location.’A live trial of the new BAA loos is underway at London Gatwick