Much needed public conveniences for the ‘continuous public foyer’ of the South Bank alongside the Jubilee Gardens and London Eye
“The barge she sat in, like a burnish’d throne, Burn’d on the water; the poop was beaten gold.”
William Shakespeare, Antony & Cleopatra Act II Scene 2
Our competition-winning bid with Healthmatic Ltd to ‘design, build and operate’ was subject to protracted and rigorous planning scrutiny, involving many local interest groups and authorities, including Friends of Jubilee Gardens, counter-terrorism and Metropolitan Open Land assessments. Planning permission was finally granted only six months before its opening. We hit the deadline. Lambeth MP Kate Hoey cut the ribbon to the accompaniment of “Up, up and away in my beautiful Jubiloo!” sung by the Waterloo Community Choir.
Taking inspiration from its Thameside ‘mooring’, the barge-like canopy of this water-hungry building also acts as an impluvium, collecting rainwater which, with groundwater drawn from the Festival Hall’s borehole, supplies the estimated 500,000 flushes per year demanded by visitors using the 11 unisex cubicles and 6 urinals. The Jubiloo has an anodised gold aluminium canopy roof, a clinkered yacht-varnished timber ‘hull’, and river green glass panels reflecting its immediate surroundings and the ebb and flow of passers-by. Its oak bench is inscribed for Waterloo sunset lovers and amateur theatricals alike.
“This is the best toilet I’ve ever been in!”
Mary from Manchester
