M2 Senos

Where Is The Toilet, Please?

Where Is The Toilet, Please?
© Nelson Garrido

WHERE IS THE TOILET, PLEASE?

M2.senos

ARCHITECTS
M2.senos

BUILDING
Workers of São Salvador Parish Council

MANUFACTURERS
VELUX Commercial, Portilame, Primus Vitória, Weber, Adriazul

PHOTOGRAPHS
Nelson Garrido

AREA
85 m²

YEAR
2017

LOCATION
Ilhavo, Portugal

CATEGORY
Public Architecture

Text description provided by architect.

Toilettes in a cemetery do not seem to be the most appealing projects. Not even for the design brief. Not even for the place. Not even for the budget. Nevertheless, for us, it was exciting!

Where Is The Toilet, Please?
© Nelson Garrido
Where Is The Toilet, Please?
© Nelson Garrido

We have been there a few times before and we were always uncomfortable, looking at the floor trying not to stumble in the narrow paths between the great marble stones. So when we were asked to do the rehabilitation of the toilettes (the old building), it was as if it was the first time there.

We perceive the hierarchies, the streets, the paths, the square, the church, the entrances and the exits, the trees, the stones, and the green flowerbeds… How beautiful and organized!

Where Is The Toilet, Please?
© Nelson Garrido
Where Is The Toilet, Please?
© Nelson Garrido

The (old) building was huge and absolutely out of the context, with vast flat roofs that almost touch the chapel. It was a “sacrilege” to see this scenario from the south entrance of the cemetery. All we did was to reduce the size and to summarize the information.

An abstract exercise to create an abstract object: no doors, no windows, no sheds or porches. The idea of using ceramic tile coating came naturally.

Where Is The Toilet, Please?
© Nelson Garrido
Where Is The Toilet, Please?
© Nelson Garrido

And it was evident: the ceramic tiles had to be green.The object should be more related to the natural elements, and less with the constructed ones, highlighting the church that is so closeby.

To achieve this, to create a uniform and neutral object, the ceramic tile must coat the entire building, from the facades to the rooftop. But then comes the reality: technical and economic reality – and rightly so!

Where Is The Toilet, Please?
© Nelson Garrido
Where Is The Toilet, Please?
© Nelson Garrido

The workers did not know how to do it. And the time schedule? Was it expensive? The design solves everything! We add some plasters to optimize the stereotype of the tiles and to reduce the technical difficulties.

A teamwork! Through the two extracted mass on the facades, we get in the building. On the south side, we access the new facilities for supporting the cemetery workers staff.

Where Is The Toilet, Please?
© Nelson Garrido
Where Is The Toilet, Please?
© Nelson Garrido
Where Is The Toilet, Please?
© Nelson Garrido

The main entrance is from the north and takes us to the central space, inside the building, but with exterior features, pointed out by the natural light and the Portuguese Pavement on the floor (the sidewalks that surround the building continuity).

Here, there are the washbasins and is a space that works for a pivotal area, between the female, male and accessible facilities.

This is a building without technology, which means that is the wind (strengthened by the north-south orientation) that dehumidifies and renews the air.

Where Is The Toilet, Please?
© Nelson Garrido
Where Is The Toilet, Please?
© Nelson Garrido

Sating on the pre-existing walls we have a timber roof truss with a white glaze. All the interiors are white and have natural lighting through skylights, which reinforces luminous comfort. The marble washbasins match with the outdoor objects of the cemetery.

The candle burner is a sturdy and resistant piece made of black painted iron despite the delicate design. As a whole, these two objects reinforce the hierarchical network of the cemetery, not ceasing to be, of the scale and synthetic unit, plus one of its "salt and pepper shakers".

Where Is The Toilet, Please?
© Nelson Garrido


Where Is The Toilet, Please?
© Nelson Garrido
Where Is The Toilet, Please?
© Nelson Garrido
Where Is The Toilet, Please?
© Nelson Garrido
Where Is The Toilet, Please?
© Nelson Garrido
Where Is The Toilet, Please?
© Nelson Garrido
Where Is The Toilet, Please?
© Nelson Garrido
Where Is The Toilet, Please?
© Nelson Garrido
Where Is The Toilet, Please?
© Nelson Garrido


Where Is The Toilet, Please?
Ground Floor Plan
Where Is The Toilet, Please?
Rooftop Plan


Where Is The Toilet, Please?
North Elevation
Where Is The Toilet, Please?
East Elevation


Where Is The Toilet, Please?
Demolition/Reconstruction

M2 Senos
T +351 936 271 906
M2 Senos
Travessa Adolfo Paião nº5 3830-107 Ílhavo — Portugal, Europe