The Bathroom Reinvented
Who says poo is taboo? In the first episode of Dwell's new video series, The Bathroom Reinvented, Virginia Gardiner makes a case for talking candidly about the can, explaining the designer's role in improving the loo.
A former editor at Dwell, Gardiner is an industrial designer at Design London Imperial College, where she is developing and promoting her plumbing-free toilet, the Gardiner CH4. "In America, we have a flush and forget mentality," she points out. But 2.6 billion people in the world lack any form of functional toilet, and humans create an average of two pounds of excretion per person per day.
In the video, Gardiner (who expounded upon her research in our June 2009 issue) reviews some new ideas for enabling better sanitation in even the most remote areas of the world, and breaks down the details on turning human waste into a high-value commodity.
Comments
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Sorry, didn't read it yet but I will but on the "face" of it, I recall a company out of Oregon, I believe, who has a product used in outhouse containers that ecologically turns fecal matter into disposeable waste. It is a new technology or concept. I wrote the name of the company somewhere and, pardon me, it this article includes it. I love your magazine, truly. Thank you.
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exceptional concept and video. bravo :) when are you going commercial?
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I'm pretty squeamish re bodily functions but this makes sense!
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Fuller said this tech will come from space technology- but you made it on earth at least first steps. good thinking. I have question how can one clean thy self and what if a person made a mess. have you taking in sonsideration tradition and people whos ignroance may make problem using it. could you email me, want to ask you more questions- b Tim
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