TOILETS

By Anthony Dylan Anak Frankie Jurem

This is an interesting one for me to write because, in my early days working within the shopping centre industry, I was once tasked with improving the shopping centre’s toilets. It was rather eye-opening and quite challenging to find out what made a good toilet facility in the late 1990s. I started my career right after university and went into the shopping centre industry by accident. That would be another story to tell as I was on the verge of heading into the tourism industry then.

Historically, the use of toilets typically incurred a fee per usage. This was to ensure costs were defrayed from the cleaning and the provision of amenities. However, shopping centres at that time do not really put much thought into their toilet facilities as much as their leasing and marketing activities. Yet, you are paying a fee to use. Even toilet paper was charged. Most were wet and smelt like a fish market. The car park and motorcycle parking facilities shared the same fate of being put at the last of attention.

Things started changing after the millennium. Malaysia was lagging in shopping centre toilet standards when compared with Singapore and Thailand. I remember being asked to attend the shopping centre industry seminar visits in those two countries and take the opportunity to snap photos of toilets. This of course was with the respective management approvals and presence. So, there was not a worry of any perversion.

In the early 2000s, I participated in renovating all the toilets for a shopping centre in Subang Jaya as part of my portfolio. It was an interesting ride and one which was also very satisfying. We got rid of charging a fee to use and provided complimentary toilet paper just before we embarked on the phased total dismantling and demolishing of the toilets.

With the observations we had, and some insights from our peers in Singapore, we wanted something better than what they had. We thought of everything. At times to the point of thinking of the customer journey and their pet peeves as a guide. There were a few interesting things we found out which would be fail safe when creating a new toilet facility then.

The flooring should be of an earthy colour and not dark. It must have some resistance based on a certain R rating for floor tiles. Wall tiles must be smooth, of light colour and in larger pieces, like the floor. The lesser the grout lines the better for cleaning. The floor must slope down from the back of the cubicles and urinals to a floor drainage point. This assisted in the cleaning regime. We discovered that having a full height tiled demising wall from floor to ceiling and having a scupper drain just behind the cubicle door worked best to ensure the best anti vandalism and cleaning regime. Laminated walls would just add more surface for vandalism as the doors and frames would also already be laminated.

All the accessories like the urinals and the seating pans must be wall hung. Those with squat pans must have rounded edges for the step ups to prevent serious injuries. We also redesigned them, to ensure that the back of all the cubicles has a service corridor so the piping and wiring can be dealt with without entering the toilets. Toilet cubicles must also have hooks for hanging stuff in front.

We found out that toilets must have exhaust within each cubicle and urinal with the air conditioning supply keeping the temperature at the toilets no more than 24 degrees Celsius. This helped with suppressing the smell and keeping the toilets dry. Hand dryers must be of decent quality. At that time, Dyson did not exist. We used another brand. Today, there is not one brand that would beat a Dyson hand dryer. Forget the rest for now.

That shopping centre was the first within Malaysia then to have all sensor taps and sensor flush mechanism. We started with a brand before changing to Toto as the hand basin taps need not be hard wired with the new Toto dynamo run mechanism. The running water turns a turbine to help with powering up the battery for the activation. The touchless experience was innovative. The only thing that was not done then was the use of seat bidets. Those were nearly non-existent for commercial use then and rather prohibitive in costs. The physically challenged toilets also had automatic doors with an alarm button for assistance.

We also learnt that hand soaps should be of the foam type to save the soap use and placed in between hand wash basins. It was better to have an equal number of basins as opposed to having an odd number because you would need more soap dispensers in that formation. Toilet paper rolls were provided in each cubicle. Of course, today, I would rather place at least a communal area roll just outside the cubicles for those needing them to take.

We also played with bright solid colours for the toilet doors and lobby. The lighting was bright and good for vanity. This profoundly changed the way toilets were then for shopping centres and was the pride of Subang Jaya from 2006 onwards. The project ended up getting 3^rd place in the National Toilet Design competition and was the only shopping centre after Suria KLCC in the top 3.

Today, many shopping centres have gone towards aesthetics and do not think of the practicality of use by the consumer and the maintenance when designing toilets. Smell, Sight, Sound and Touch. 4 senses. The 5^th is not applicable as you cannot possibly want to taste anything literally. It must smell right, look right, sound right (in case you are wondering, I am talking about the music) and touch right (contactless, good lighting and safe).

Those maketh a toilet. Not just fancy electronic tech laden grabbing aesthetics. Spend on the correct things! Listen to your users and those maintaining them for you! Do not try to be a smart arse. Many fail to heed this and want to go on an ego trip at the expense of users. You are supposed to use toilets and leave. Not stay for a long time.

It is time to make better toilet decisions. Otherwise, you would lose customers. No one will spend too much time in a shopping centre which has inadequate ladies’ toilets, no parents room, no baby changing facilities in both ladies’ and men’s facilities, no adjacent physically challenged toilets and with suffocating humidity. Aesthetics will always come second to practicality.

Today, most shopping centres seem to forget practicality and the customer journey and needs. Most focus on aesthetics. Renovating the toilet should put key functional aspects first. A practical design. In the end, ask yourself this simple question. What do you want in the toilet? This is a powerful question that provides the answer. Fix the basic needs first, always.