Stunning public bathrooms with green roofs and hoseable walls may be coming to Toronto
They’re so beautiful, you just might have to sit down while using them
The scramble to pee while in public is as Torontonian as getting stranded at Union or dodging overzealous Uber couriers on sidewalks—that desperate dance uniting us all in this potty-starved city.
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The problem is simple: Toronto doesn’t have enough public bathrooms, with only 300 year-round facilities for 3 million residents. Recent efforts have been limited to installing temporary cans in high-traffic areas as well as discussions about overhauling washrooms on the TTC. But, while bureaucrats grapple with an $18-billion infrastructure repair bill for transit, affordable housing, roads, bridges, city-owned buildings, safety initiatives, water lines and more, the bathroom lobby remains on the sidelines of the debate, legs crossed.
Tired of government inaction, a volunteer-led advocacy group called the Toronto Public Space Committee launched a global design competition this past April. The aptly named TO the Loo! challenge invited architects to reimagine Toronto’s toilet future, with more than 50 entries judged on accessibility, spatial justice, gender and culture, harm reduction, art, and community impact.
Then, earlier this month, the committee awarded Hamilton-based architects Alea Reid and Petra Matar of the firm DPAI for their Mycomorph: a non-gendered, prefabricated concrete pod that can be delivered on flatbed trucks and assembled modularly to suit disparate sites.
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The winning proposal comes with water-repellent walls, floor drains for hose-down cleaning, a green roof, a call-assistance strip, curved exteriors, drinking fountains (for people and pets), benches, braille signage, showers, changing tables, naloxone kits and sharps disposal bins.
City hall hasn’t yet committed to building anything, though council did promise to discuss the winning design with the committee. If approved, the project would move to cost analysis ahead of the 2026 budget cycle.
Ali Amad is a Palestinian-Canadian journalist based in Toronto. His work has appeared in publications including Toronto Life, Maclean’s, Vice, Reader’s Digest and the Walrus, often exploring themes of identity, social justice and the immigrant experience.
