Tucson, Arizona

Along the banks of the Canada del Oro, Pantano, Tanque Verde, Santa Cruz, and Rillito Rivers in Pima County, Arizona, stretch sixteen miles of Linear Parks. This is the first phase of a project that will one day encompass some 105 miles along Tucson’s largest washes, providing residents with a neighborhood recreation greenbelt – an oasis along the riverbeds. Under the authority of the Pima County Department of Transportation and Flood Control, the Linear Parks Restrooms will be scattered along these arroyos to serve the public. Initial designs were complete in 1989, but due to the multiple phases of the project and the expanse of several river systems, construction of the facilities is ongoing.

The design involves a re-evaluation of what a public restroom actually wants to be. As prototypes, they are conceived as facilities that break stereotypical patterns of public restrooms. The solution is both sculptural and modular, lending beauty to the park-scape, while providing a generic “kit of parts,” easily modified to make the facilities site specific. Based upon actual needs rather than preconceived notions, the design addresses issues of function, accessibility, maintenance, contextual/site issues, territoriality, way finding, visual aesthetics, and cultural response.

Project Potty is our contribution toward creating places with the potential to enhance the natural environments within our cities.