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.


















Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
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.