Urban public toilets can be divided into three types according to the architectural form: independent, attached and mobile. According to the classification of construction datum, it can be divided into two categories: above ground and underground.
1． Free-standing public toilets:
Free-standing public toilets refer to the public toilet building structure is not related to other building structures, independently built in the vicinity of urban roads, squares, green spaces, cultural and sports facilities, stations, docks, residential quarters, etc., to provide toilet services for the public who are active in or passing through these places.
Because the independent public toilet is not directly related to other buildings, it can often be combined with the surrounding architectural environment and the cultural environment of the setting site, and designed into architectural sketches with distinct personalities, enriching the architectural environment and cultural connotation of the public toilet setting location, and becoming an architectural note that is in harmony with the city. In terms of management operations, such as sucking septic tank feces, independent public toilets are relatively convenient and have less environmental impact on the surrounding environment, and are suitable for construction in city squares, urban green spaces, urban arterial roads, near urban tourist attractions and other places.
2． Attached public toilets:
Attached public toilet means that the building structure of the public toilet belongs to the same whole as other main building structures, and the public toilet building is only a part of the construction attached to the main building. Public toilets can be separated from the main building, and the access of the main building users is irrelevant, such as public toilets attached to the bottom floor of residential buildings, and the entrance of public toilets is separated from the entrance of residential buildings. It can also be entered and exited with the same door as the main building, such as public toilets attached to shopping malls, hotel buildings, etc., you can organize the flow of people to enter the public toilets through the entrance halls and passages of the main building to provide convenient services for the public.
Attached public toilets are suitable for construction in bustling commercial streets and other places where land is tight and the flow of people is large, and in public buildings such as large shopping malls, hotels, catering places, entertainment venues, etc., public toilets can be attached for the use of service objects and passers-by, which has greater flexibility in the planning and deployment of public toilets.
3. Portable public toilets: Mobile public toilets
Mobile public toilets refer to facilities where public toilet buildings can be repeatedly and easily moved to the places that need to be set up to provide toilet services for the public. Because some locations are limited by terrain conditions and there are no buildings such as shopping malls to build public toilets, the problem of public toilets has not been well solved, and there is an urgent need for public toilets with smaller footprint and strong mobility to provide services for the public. Some large-scale outdoor recreational activities and sports events are showing an increasing trend, these activities in a short period of time a large number of people concentrated, and then returned to normal, but also urgently need to cope with the needs of public toilet facilities to meet the needs of the time, therefore, mobile public toilets came into being. Mobile public toilets have a small footprint, generally about 5-10m2, strong mobility, can be reused, less waste caused by demolition, very suitable for use by terrain conditions and time-based service needs.
According to the size of the body and the frequency of movement, the mobile public toilet can be divided into several categories, such as the overall lifting type, the overall handling type, the self-powered walking type and the unpowered dragging and walking type. The overall hoisting type can be set relatively fixed at the required location, which is suitable for places that are limited by terrain conditions and occupy a small area, such as commercial streets, both sides of main roads, and street open spaces. The overall handling type can be carried by manual handling or carried by a pull arm car, and the walking type is modified from a motor vehicle, which can be more convenient to drive to any location on its own or tow, and the mobility is very strong, suitable for large-scale outdoor cultural and recreational activities, sports events, gatherings and other places with seasonal needs.
4． Ground and underground public toilets:
Most of the urban public toilets are built on the ground, but the public toilets built underground also play an important role, such as the underground public toilets on the east side of Tiananmen Square in Beijing, which are no less than the ground public toilets in terms of building scale, building standards and service levels, providing good toilet services for the majority of tourists visiting Tiananmen Square. With the increasing attention paid to the development of urban underground space in China, how to solve the problem of underground public facilities such as subways and underground shopping malls for customers to go to the toilet has been mentioned in the agenda of governments at all levels, and the construction of underground public toilets has become one of the blank spots in urban public toilets that need to be broken, which needs to be continuously studied and practiced.
