Design Week brings Tokyo Toilet project to Milan metro

The Tokyo Toilet/Milano project, inspired by the original Tokyo Toilet initiative, has arrived in Milan during Design Week 2022. It aims to transform public toilets into attractive, symbolic spaces. The first step was the complete renovation of the restroom at Duomo metro station (M1 red line), in collaboration with ATM. The new facilities, designed by Tokyo-based collective SKWAT with graphic designer Satoshi Machiguchi and photographer Daidō Moriyama, and built by Toto, are permanently donated to the city. During Design Week, the restroom hosts an exhibition of Moriyama's street photography. Large-scale reproductions of his works are also displayed around the city to promote the project. Additionally, The Tokyo Toilet is featured in an installation at the Uniqlo store in Piazza Cordusio (soon to open its second Milan location) and a show at Triennale Milano, where Tokyo's public toilets and Moriyama's photographs are presented in an art-and-design installation. The original Tokyo Toilet project, launched for the 2020 Olympics (postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19) under the company that manages Uniqlo, involved 16 creatives including Shigeru Ban, Toyo Ito, Kengo Kuma, Tadao Ando, and Nao Tamura, who designed 17 public toilets in Shibuya.