The Gradual Manifestation of a Distant Vision
My colleague Kevin has posted recent updates on the current status of nominating a construction agency for building the toilet facilities in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. As mentioned, we are waiting on final approvals from the government and are hopeful that we will soon have a contractor confirmed, following which we can start pre-construction activities at the sites. As such, we are hopeful that we will soon break ground and see the beginning of construction.
This has come after several months of tendering activity. The design team that has worked on the various sorts of toilet facilities, have long completed all the requisite work to begin construction. However the challenges faced on the tendering and approval fronts have meant that there has been a long period of subdued activity on the design front. In the meanwhile, we have been working on version 1 of the toolkit for Project Sammaan with Shreya Chakravarty, who is currently pursuing her Postgraduate Diploma in Graphic Design at NID. This version will focus on the work-streams that Quicksand is anchoring- namely the hardware aspects of the project, including converting user insights from the Potty Project to design principles and product features, as well as learnings gleaned from interactions with the government and experts, particularly during the hardware tendering process.
We will soon be able to share glimpses of this version of the toolkit. In the meanwhile, Shreya along with the Quicksand & Anagram teams worked quite extensively with a 3D animator to visualise the design features of our proposed toilet facilities. This involved identifying all the key innovations on hardware, including design elements and materials used.
Here are a few renders from the 12 seater enhanced facility that we intend to build in a few sites.
An overall view of the 12 seater enhanced facility with the key sections called out.
The spitting trough at the entry allows people to brush their teeth while they waiting to enter the facility.
The toilet stalls have a regular squat pot and hooks and a platform to keep belongings.
The bathing stall is completely closed to encourage users to remove all their clothes while bathing for proper hygiene.
The urinals in the men section allow for optimal use within the space without over-crowding.
The universal access stall has several design elements that keep in mind the special needs of the disabled and the elderly.
The children’s potty allows for monitoring of small children by adults, while inculcating hygienic behaviours right from childhood.
The women’s section has a menstrual waste incinerator that burns all menstrual waste, limiting unhygienic disposal.
There are hand & foot wash areas across the facility encouraging people to maintain hygienic habits.
The clothes washing area in both the men’s and women’s sections provide a dedicated space that would be valued by users.
The enhanced facilities also have retail shop areas, which will sell daily essentials and also provide an additional source of revenue for the facility operators.
While these renders make evident the several design innovations that we are attempting to incorporate into the toilet facilities, do keep in mind that these are an artist’s impressions of our designs. Seeing these have only made the wait tougher and we are anxious to see some of these elements manifest on the ground during actual construction. We are confident that they will resonate with the beneficiary communities and help instill a sense of pride, dignity and hygiene.