A quiet residential block on Staten Island is the unlikely location of a potentially game-changing project: the first modularly constructed public bathroom in New York. The modest structure, designed by 1100 Architect, was completed last winter and has been a boon for visitors at Lopez Playground, which previously had no public facilities within walking distance.
Composed of three steel-frame modules, the restroom is enclosed with a facade of structural glazed tile, making it durable, low-maintenance, and vandal-resistant. At 34 feet long and 20 feet wide, the design aligns with dimension standards for New York City Department of Parks & Recreation (NYC Parks), and consists of separate men’s and women’s toilets flanking a mechanical room and employee storage space. Small skylights and generous windows, treated with a translucent film for privacy, bring natural light inside the three-stall restrooms. The architects also incorporated a green roof, adding a green touch to the ultra-pragmatic program.
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Abutting a small playground (top of page), the modular restroom is outfitted with a green roof (1) and skylights that allow for abundant daylight inside (2). Photos © Ty Cole, click to enlarge.
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In 2019, 1100 Architect was approached by NYC Parks to develop a feasible modular system for public restrooms. The firm had previously been commissioned by the agency to design a pavilion and maintenance center for the new Calvert Vaux Park in South Brooklyn, completed in 2023. “The Parks Department wanted a system that would hopefully be more cost-effective but, in particular, more time-effective,” to minimize disruption of park functions, says founding principal Juergen Riehm.
The design team looked at different construction schemes, including one developed by the National Park Service that uses concrete modules for restroom construction. But it found the material wasn’t feasible here—efficient transportation through New York’s dense grid posed strict constraints on size and weight. At 18,000 pounds each, the resulting 11-foot, 6-inch by 19-foot, 4-inch steel-frame modules are a fifth as heavy as a concrete equivalent and, at a total construction cost of $2.5 million, 15 percent less expensive (and 50 percent faster) to build.
In addition to honing module dimensions, 1100’s design prioritized easy fabrication and maintenance, using standard materials and construction methodologies. This allows access to a greater pool of local contractors and makes components easier to maintain and replace in the long run. “That’s an issue with modular construction, where it’s so hyper-optimized that it creates this singular product,” says senior associate Jean-Cédric de Foy. “This one is designed to work with NYC Parks broadly and its maintenance team, relying on materials they already are familiar with.”
After the firm finalized the design, off-site fabrication took six months to complete, concurrent with light on-site foundation work that could be completed within a few months. The modules were then transported from the fabricator, Modlogiq, in New Holland, Pennsylvania, and installed in a single day.
The Staten Island project has already affected plans to install more public toilets. A press officer for NYC Parks says the department is employing modular construction for two new public facilities at Fort Washington Park in Manhattan and Grant Park in the Bronx, though did not specify whether these projects would utilize 1100’s system.
Its success, though, comes at a time when new solutions are desperately needed to address the city’s paltry and ailing stock of public facilities. The latest data from the city show that New York has only 12 public restrooms per 100,000 people, lagging far behind other major American cities. San Francisco, for instance, now has 26 for every 100,000, after partnering with a nonprofit in 2014 to aggressively spearhead an expansion campaign. Last June, New York mayor Eric Adams passed the “Ur In Luck” bill, which included building 46 new restrooms and renovating 36 others over the next five years. But critics say this isn’t enough. Advocates and elected officials have pushed for legislation that will set a more ambitious target for the city: one public restroom for every 2,000 residents by 2035.
A report released this fall highlighted the scope of the challenge by casting a sobering light on the state of the city’s existing facilities. Of the 1,000 public restrooms scattered across the five boroughs, almost a third lacked basic amenities like trash receptacles, while 10 percent remained shuttered during their scheduled operating hours; 40 percent suffered from persistent litter problems, and 23 percent failed to meet basic sanitation standards. In other words, New York faces an infrastructural crisis where public amenities struggle to meet basic dignity and sanitary requirements.
In the long term, this will require broader legislation that directs funds toward maintenance and upkeep as well as construction. Right now, though, 1100 Architect’s modular system charts a potential path forward for lawmakers looking to quickly and affordably supplement the city’s meager supply.
Click graphic to enlarge
