Public toilet Reitemakersrijge ( Openbaar toilet Reitemakersrijge)

About this artwork.

This public toilet is a design by architect Rem Koolhaas and photographer Erwin Olaf: they designed the urinal for A Star is Born (1996), an urban exhibition that brought urban planning, architecture, art and theatre together into a swirling synthesis on the overarching theme of water. Architectural projects, including this structure, were realised at four locations in the city.

The round toilet consists of two curved walls of milk glass, which combine to form the yin and yang symbol. Above it is a floating roof of perforated stainless steel. The drop-shaped holes in the roof are filled with glass.

What makes this public toilet building unusual is that it not only has a men's section, but also a ladies' section, each with its own entrance. The milk-glass walls contain a photo collage by Erwin Olaf in shades of blue and deep purple against a plain, bright background. The photos depict ‘the battle of the sexes’: exotic ladies and gentlemen playfully attacking each other. They are dressed in pearls and diamonds and bear stereotypical tools like a rolling pin, a sword, boxing gloves and a toy gun. The figures reappear along the upper and lower edges of the toilet as a sort of decorative border. In the evening, the toilet is illuminated from the inside.

The toilet is available for use in the summer, but closed during the winter due to the risk of freezing.

About the assignment.

To crown the completion of a large-scale redevelopment of the city centre, four special places in the city were designed and created. In order to stimulate the necessary, cross-disciplinary approach — between urban planning and culture — the architects were paired with an artist. For each of the four chosen locations, the architects were given an urban scenario as a programme.

For the A (waterway) and Reitemakersrijge, a special element in the design of the public space was requested. These required a public toilet, with a maximum area of 30 square metres and a height of 1 storey. OMA architects/Rem Koolhaas collaborated with photographer Erwin Olaf.

A Star is Born was a collaboration between the municipal departments of Spatial Planning and Art and Culture. This contributed to the debate on the use and design of public space. Catalan architect Manuel de Solá-Morales and OMA architects/Rem Koolhaas, who worked with photographer Erwin Olaf, each realised a permanent work on the edges of the city centre. These two contributions to A Star is Born have been included in this

Facts & Figures.

• Design
  Erwin Olaf
  OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture) / Rem Koolhaas

• District
  Centrum

• Year of creation
  1996

• Art type
  Design, Art and architecture, Photography

• Material
  Stainless steel, Glass

• Dimensions
  h 2,25 m