Tete d'Or Park
Architects: Jacky Suchail Architects
Location: Lyon, France
Design Office: E2CA
Photographs: Franck Fleury
Location: Lyon, France
Design Office: E2CA
Photographs: Franck Fleury
Jacky Suchail Architecture Urbanisme has been recently installed eight new public toilets in the Tête d’Or. They are easily visible and conveniently located on the perimeter of the park and at strategic points within it. They are all different, though with a similar basic form in wood and concrete: plinth, superstructure, screen and sun shades. This is an unusual exercise for an architect, requiring a certain inventiveness and a deft touch in order to achieve integration with the splendid natural setting. Besides significantly modifying the general ambiance, the project treats, in a discreet way, a subject that can be a little sensitive.
The idea was to create an architectural configuration that did not compete with nature. There was no desire to use “soft” forms of organic inspiration, or curves like those of the surrounding trees. On the contrary, what was wanted was lines that would embody structure, conceal or reveal, mark out a path or terminate a passage: in sum, occupy space. The search for orthogonality in the use of horizontality and, by extension, verticality, derives both from formal considerations and the choice of materials. It attains an optimal approach to construction and an environmental stance.
The use of larch planks for the screens and overhangs recalls the architecture of the park’s giraffe house. There is no mimicry here, but the structures are “matched”, with a unitary language that adds a new note to the general tone. In this natural setting,the edifices are enhanced by kinetic effects. They appear, and are perceived, in movement: that of walking, running, cycling, and the authorised types of motor vehicles
The design of the toilets was inspired by a number of symbolic images that are significant for the architect: stones and twigs, to begin with, which express the harmonious opposition and compatibility that exist between forms and materials.
Then there is the fundamental importance of the base, which expresses rootedness, but also horizontality, as the eternally defining feature and reference of landscape. These small buildings embody contrasts: heavy / light; concrete / wood.
The vertical slats accentuate this feeling, with interplays of the full and the empty, shadow and light, which differ according to the direction of approach. There is a slightly changing, subliminal rhythm. The screens dissimulate the volumes, while also giving glimpses of trees and vegetation
With their four common elements, the eight toilets belong to the same family, but they have distinctly different identities that take account of, for example, the locations and means of access. The formula is quite simple. There are either two or four cubicles, two urinals, a drinking fountain and a bench. The installation at the Roseraie is an experimental dry toilet.
Reference: http://www.archdaily.com/302966/public-toilets-in-the-tete-dor-park-jacky-suchail-architects/