Public toilets : a study of Hong Kong's public toilets and their cultural significance

Abstract

The Hong Kong Government has been putting more and more effort into renovating the city's public toilets. It has brought up the question of the role of public toilets in Hong Kong. Since public toilets are always linked with civilisation and society which are closely connected to culture, this study aims to discuss the cultural significance of public toilets in Hong Kong with the focus of its social value. By collecting pnmary and secondary data, including government reports, photos, newspapers, interviews and site visits, the evolution of public toilets in Hong Kong can be acknowledged and subsequently, a close linkage between public toilets and society ( our way of living) is identified. Demonstrated with case studies, Pound Lane Public Toilet and Bathhouse and Ma Wan Fisherman Village Public Toilet and Bathhouse, this research concludes that public toilets supplement the understanding of a place and contribute to Hong Kong people's source of identity. As community architecture, they meets the requirement of social value for being accessible and repeatedly visited. During the time when there was a discrimination law against homosexual community, public toilets, as a public and private space, were a gathering place for the homosexuals to be themselves. Therefore, this study concluded that some public toilets carry social values and they are important in reflecting our society which are worthy considerations when making conservation decisions.