James Lambert's Embankment Transforms London Public Toilet into Art

The City of Westminster has launched Westminster Notes, a public art program that repurposes eight former public toilet sites in central London. The first installation, Embankment, is by artist James Lambert. The ceramic work, produced by H&E Smith of Stoke-on-Trent, adorns the surface of a restored public lavatory. Lambert's design layers symbols of Victoria Embankment: lines referencing Joseph Bazalgette's 19th-century sewer network, a sphinx by George John Vulliamy, and motifs of the River Thames including a steamboat, anchors, and palm trees evoking its history as a global trade hub. The project transforms an overlooked urban space into a site-specific artwork.