Transparent public restroom not for those with performance anxiety

As if you didn't have enough to do in the water closet, visitors to this restroom in Lausanne, Switzerland, have one added step: they must actually press the "voir" button to get a little privacy in this otherwise transparent structure. The walls are constructed with liquid crystal glass that becomes see through under electric tension -- which can be triggered via motion sensor, in case all motion ceases for a period of time (napping is not allowed) or if there is too much activity (partying is definitely not allowed). What do you think: Is this a stylish and innovative alternative to the ugly plastic porta-john? Or a disaster waiting to happen? Video after the break.

[allens555 @ May 26th 2009 9:25PM]

Very cool!

[Midnitte @ May 26th 2009 9:58PM]

Definitely a good place to party.

[ghex88 @ May 27th 2009 10:02AM]

No ventilation for air intake as well as outake. Bad for as in real use as a toilet.
But for that desperate use, should be okay I guess.

[jnn4v @ May 27th 2009 12:25PM]

I actually think it should be nominated for the next Crapgadget voting.

[Matt @ May 28th 2009 8:47AM]

The Most Pointless Inventions!

[robert @ May 26th 2009 9:27PM]

they should put that next to a club and a taco bell that should be interesting

[Alistair loveless @ May 27th 2009 12:03AM]

you sir are a gentleman and a poet..


plus 1 for you

plus 2 for epic montezumas revenge style dhiarrhea... now visible to all.

[Glucosyl @ May 27th 2009 3:00AM]

You're not far from reality. It's actually placed next to one of the most famous night club in Switzerland and also to the "Taco's bar"

[JH @ May 27th 2009 5:05AM]

@Glucosyl
So its down in the Flon area? I haven't seen it yet...

[a ham sandwich @ May 26th 2009 9:28PM]

i saw a door exactly like this at an ice cream place in florida a couple years ago. i thought it was the coolest thing then, too.

anybody know the place i'm talking about? i want to say it was near boca raton.

[Link2877 @ May 26th 2009 9:41PM]

yea I saw it on T.V. years and years ago and thought of it immediately when reading the title of this article.

Here's a link to a story about it
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/dining/content/news/sloans_bathroom.html

[b3tard @ May 26th 2009 10:09PM]

There's been one in London for a few years too at an underground cocktail bar. It's cool but I do worry it'll short out or something.

[a ham sandwich @ May 26th 2009 10:12PM]

@link

awesome! that's definitely it! i didn't know there was a news article about it! gotta love engadget ;)

[chanze @ May 27th 2009 1:48AM]

It was in West Palm Beach, Florida. I know exactly what you're talking about. This is actually a very old concept, because when I saw it, this was about 5 yrs. ago. The ice cream place in like some park.

[iChristian3G @ May 27th 2009 5:32AM]

That's in City Place (West Palm Beach) in a place called Sloan’s Ice Cream. You have to lock the door for the glass to become non-transparent.

[ioannisnousias @ May 27th 2009 5:59AM]

I think a little alarm would have sufficed in that case...

[Jamie M @ May 27th 2009 8:13AM]

The London bar in question is the Cellar Door, in the converted Victorian toilet on Aldwych. Interesting place, although the live music can be a little interesting...

[Aavail1236 @ May 26th 2009 9:40PM]

i would never use this. i guess im just not secure enough plus, using the jon is a very private thing. what happens in the event of power failure??

[Glenn Tobey @ May 26th 2009 9:46PM]

Obviously if you had completely read the post you would have seen that it says "The walls are constructed with liquid crystal glass that becomes see through under electric tension"

[Aavail1236 @ May 26th 2009 11:22PM]

oops i read that backward! lol, dont get all bent outa shape glenn!!

[Andir3.0 @ May 26th 2009 9:39PM]

What's the purpose? Why would one need a toilet with windows?

[m @ May 26th 2009 10:21PM]

a lot of weird and crazy stuff happens in public toilets that this idea might prevent: drugs, prostitution, etc. in san francisco, i once saw a woman walk out of one of these toilets followed shortly by a man who was bleeding profusely from his face. if they have to keep pressing a button to stay hidden, they'll go elsewhere.

[MikeWard1701 @ May 26th 2009 10:46PM]

"Why would one need a toilet with windows?"

Ask Microsoft.

[MacBandit @ May 26th 2009 11:11PM]

Most of them have a timer so that they go back to see through after a couple minutes. This is to prevent people from taking advantage of public bathrooms for camping or other more insidious purposes. Thus ensuring that everyone gets a turn.

[wrs589 @ May 27th 2009 7:26AM]

@MacBandit

What if you're still taking a shit and the timer goes off?

Fail.

[swissheep @ May 27th 2009 10:44AM]

The public toilets in that block (if it's where I think it is) are known for their gay... "parties". Kinda disturbing for most people who hang around there.. so the transparent windows would help stop that.

Then again, this could just turn into a big peep show. Either way it's pretty fun

[required @ May 26th 2009 9:40PM]

I'd steer clear of that greenhouse gas.

[required @ May 26th 2009 9:44PM]

Also I bet exhibitionists would abuse it by intentionally forgetting to press the button.

[Hackettman @ May 26th 2009 9:42PM]

This would never work in NYC...... Itd be used for performance art and/or for some bum to show how he lives for 30+ days.....

[Seoul Brother @ May 27th 2009 5:47AM]

I cant remember the name of the place, but there's some hoity-toity douchebag nightclub in NYC with one exterior glass wall that shows off whatever's going on in the bathroom. Maybe not in each stall, but still showing stuff off to passersby. I think it operates on a similar principle as this Swiss crapper.

[gb @ May 27th 2009 3:42PM]

Bar 89 in Soho in New York has four unisex bathrooms that do something like this. The glass doors are clear until you lock the door, then the become opaque. I hope. At least, it looked opaque from the inside.

[Aqua @ May 26th 2009 9:45PM]

You and your missus banging it up against the wall.... oops! Too Much Motion!

[BigD145 @ May 26th 2009 9:44PM]

It's too fiddly for what it is. Failures will lead to lawsuits.

[Jo @ May 26th 2009 10:47PM]

It's in Switzerland, not America.

[ben @ May 27th 2009 12:16AM]

Well, it says that under electric tension it becomes transparent which means that the default is to be opaque, while making it transparent requires effort--meaning that any malfunction would probably cause it to stay off rather than stuck on.

Although it probably can't factor in for the stupids who think it's a one-way mirror and forget to activate it.

[Tohe @ May 26th 2009 9:46PM]

Ha! the buttons should go on the outside.

[Drew -- PS360: uphillbothways @ May 27th 2009 11:48AM]

I wonder if you could just stand outside with a car battery (or probably something more elaborate) and run a current through the material? :-D

[wickedpheonix @ May 26th 2009 9:47PM]

Prepare for some seriously pissed people (pun intended) when the power goes out.

Other than that... sounds pretty cool. Decently obvious from the outside if someone is actually in or not, although I'd be pretty freaked out if I saw someone pressing their eyes against the fogged glass.

[StinkyPete @ May 26th 2009 9:56PM]

Please note that these devices are visible when powered up. If power goes out, the crystals will lose their alignment and the walls will lose opacity. It's the key feature when making any crystal based semi-transparent media.

Nice to see they made a whole structure out of the stuff.

[sweet greggo @ May 27th 2009 12:18AM]

I think you mean the walls will lose *transparency* when the power is out. It will gain opacity. But yeah.

[pete @ May 26th 2009 9:54PM]

how about a bathroom with one way mirrors? so that the person sitting on the toilet has a full view around him but nobody could see in. that would be more interesting to use than this thing...

[Stacky @ May 26th 2009 9:59PM]

I believe they do have those already.

[Dan @ May 26th 2009 10:10PM]

doesn't work that way...one way mirrors are based on the ratio of light on either side

[pete @ May 26th 2009 10:21PM]

well it would work during the daytime if it was in a bright part of the city, but yea at night it wouldnt work.

[cppguy @ May 27th 2009 12:07AM]

It's been done:
http://www.eglobe1.com/index.php/2006/08/08/swiss-public-toilet/#more-433

[russlar @ May 26th 2009 9:56PM]

Gives new meaning to "I see what you did there."

[MikeWard1701 @ May 26th 2009 10:50PM]

That deserves an uprank I think.

[Nelson @ May 27th 2009 7:14AM]

Peek-A-Poo, I see you!

[Kamil @ May 26th 2009 10:04PM]

FINALLY, an un-biased topic about windows....

[Seoul Brother @ May 26th 2009 10:05PM]

Ah, the fun you could have with piezo discs, an IR remote switch, and a webcam... and saran wrap.