urinal
A urinal , also known colloquially as a pee basin , is a device for urinating while standing. It can be found in different versions, mostly on public toilets , but also in public or private areas. Urinals are usually intended for use by men, but there are also models specifically for women or for use by both sexes.
history
Beginnings of the urinal in the 19th century
In the spring of 1830, the Paris city council decided to set up the first public urinals on the large boulevards. These structures served both as urinals and as supports for posters and advertising. They were used in the summer, but in July they were alienated for a completely different purpose, namely as material for street barricades during the French Revolution of 1830 .
They were reintroduced in a different form in Paris in 1841 by Claude-Philibert Barthelot de Rambuteau , the Préfet of the former Seine department . Originally they had a simple cylindrical shape and were also called "Colonnes Rambuteau". In 1877, they were replaced by multi-part structures called vespasiennes, inspired by the 1st century Roman Emperor Titus Flavius Vespasianus who imposed a tax on urine from public toilets for use in tanning.
The first urinals were built in Berlin in 1863. To distinguish them from those of other cities, several architecture competitions were held in 1847, 1865 and 1877. One of the most successful types was an octagonal building with seven stalls, which was built from 1879, the so-called Café Achteck . Their number rose to 142 by 1920.
The urinal in its present form was first invented in the United States , immediately after the Civil War , when Andrew Rankin introduced an upright flush device in 1866; the urinal was patented by Francis Baldwin in 1882. The device enjoyed great popularity in the major northern cities of the United States, many of which experienced widespread immigration after the end of the Civil War and the subsequent antebellum in the American South. Cities like New York and Chicago experienced massive population explosions that required an overhaul of their public sewer systems; New York had to bring water to the Catskill Mountains from afar .
The division of space within factories and other businesses, and finally the type of public architecture, changed in the second half of the 19th century with better construction techniques. Although the restaging of public architecture during this period had more to do with issues of popular design and construction technology, the urinal played a role in renegotiating the use of the space. Basic sanitation in the age of the European factory was not optimal, as workers often urinated in the same river that provided both electricity for the factory and drinking water for local residents.
With the growth of cities in the late 19th century and the associated fears of disease outbreaks that could potentially encourage such overpopulation, basic sanitation has improved, with larger and more extensive sewer networks introduced to meet the needs of the population. The urinal drastically reduced the space required for a toilet, as several urinals could occupy the same square area of a single toilet floor when seated. In addition, workers typically spent less time using a urinal than a traditional sit-down toilet. During the late nineteenth century theories about worker productivity were abundant, the most common of which was Taylorism . This movement and other science-based theories of industrial performance underscored the need to maximize efficiency by standardizing working methods and practices while minimizing disruption. The decision to move the toilets closer to the factory and to make space for the easy-to-use urinal drew on these theories. Since then, the integration of indoor toilets has been a common feature of the corporate architecture that has had a lasting positive effect on the employee's ergonomic experience.
Distribution and further development in the 20th century
As more and more people got used to increasingly dense living conditions, expectations of privacy have changed somewhat. The outbuilding was usually a thing of the past, and what was considered a standalone attraction for many was now necessarily a partially shared experience of visiting a toilet outside the privacy of one's home.
However, the value of privacy was not completely undermined by the urinal as certain aspects of the design were aimed at maintaining personal comfort by minimizing exposure. For example, the single-construction model became popular at the expense of the more collective channel model (also known as pee channel ) and is still the dominant form in western countries today. In the west, for example, channel models have never been particularly popular with users, even if they are more cost-effective due to the use of a single drainage system. This tendency may be due to cultural fear of contempt, the psychological theory that bodily fluids, in which we invest much of our ideas about privacy and personal identity, mix thoroughly and publicly with those of others.
After the Second World War, gender equality became increasingly important. As women began to force their way into the American workforce, the object became the symbol of the glass ceiling that was to be broken through. The urinal was a place to which women were not allowed and thus became a symbol of male privilege and female exclusion. In the USA, various manufacturers designed urinals for women and some of them were brought to market. However, due to cultural habits and insufficient marketing, these were only able to establish themselves in a few niches and not across the board.
present
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UriLift urinals in the Netherlands: Public urinals in the old town of Amsterdam or Gothenburg (can be lowered into the floor, are "extended" if necessary)
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The sanitary providers react to a multitude of social and cultural changes. Urinals are increasingly being installed in public places because they are cheaper and more environmentally friendly than toilet facilities to buy and use.
Social trends
The increasing tendency of children to accompany their parents to various places of public life (restaurants, theaters, etc.) made it necessary to make smaller urinals for children. Larger urinals than normal urinals were later created for taller people; in very large public toilets at airports and other areas with a high volume of daily use, it is not uncommon to see urinals at three different heights.
After the short-term trend of female urinals in the USA ebbed again in the middle of the 20th century and these disappeared again from the market, at the beginning of the 21st century there are increasing approaches to developing new models and concepts. With the development towards the unisex toilet , there is a need to offer equal solutions for men and women. In summary, there is a tendency to develop urinal models in the interests of equality , which can be used by both sexes as well as children and adults with similar comfort.
Technical solutions
The contactless urinal, which uses an infrared motion detector to activate the flushing mechanism, meets the desire to create as little contact as possible between the body and the sanitary facility. Another technical development in recent years is the dry urinal , which works without flushing.
Urinals for outdoor use were developed by a Dutch manufacturer, which are firmly sunk into the floor in heavily frequented inner city areas and can be electrically extended if necessary.
A company in London has started installing video game consoles over urinals in 18 locations across Europe. The system works by using an infrared sensor to determine the directional flow of a user's urine stream. This can control various video games on the screen.
Advantages over conventional toilets
Around 90% of the time, public toilets are used for urination (as opposed to defecation ). While a conventional toilet is intended for both excretion processes, urinals are optimized for micturition and thus cover the majority of the usage requirements of a public toilet facility.
The urinal offers several advantages over a conventional toilet for both users and operators:
- On the one hand, these are of an economic nature; A urinal is cheaper than a toilet in terms of purchase and running costs in terms of water consumption (instead of up to six liters per flush of a toilet, a urinal only needs two liters of water).
- A urinal takes up less space, so that the prescribed minimum number of need places can be realized with less space requirement.
- Since the body has no contact with the urinal when urinating, it is hygienic in this regard . However, a urinal is not quite as low-splash as a toilet that is used while sitting.
Construction and shapes
Developed as a further development of the urinals, today's urinals are mostly made of porcelain , more rarely of stainless steel or plastic and ideally shaped so that the urine is absorbed with as little splash as possible.
Urinals are mainly found in public men's toilets. In some cities, there are permanent free-standing public urinals on the street. These can be used by anyone free of charge. Urinals usually have a water flush that is operated manually with a flush valve or via automatic sensors. Some urinals are automatically flushed at regular intervals. For some years now there have also been water-free urinals ( dry urinals ).
Between urinals there are occasional screens or splash protection walls , so-called pubic walls . Furthermore, toilet stones and a collecting grid for thrown handkerchiefs or cigarette butts are used in the urinal to make cleaning easier . Sometimes a urinal is also installed at a slightly lower height to enable children and smaller people to use it.
Waterless urinal
A dry urinal or waterless urinal is a urinal that is operated without flushing water, but with a drain. Conventional urinals require at least three liters of water per flush. Waterless urinals, on the other hand, do not require water or a flushing device. They are therefore more environmentally friendly and cheaper to operate. In order to avoid urine stone formation on the walls of the urinal, the surfaces often have to be re-sealed or impregnated at certain intervals .
One design of the waterless urinal is intended for use with a sealing liquid to prevent unpleasant odors. Traditionally, oils (possibly with additives) are used which, due to their lower density, always float on the water level and allow the urine to pass through. When large amounts of liquid are poured into the urinal, the liquid can be carried away and must then be replaced. Environmentally friendly sealing liquids are based on vegetable raw materials.
The so-called “Urimat” or “CULU” sucks off the urine by utilizing the pressure of the fluid and does not require any additional substances.
Mobile urinal
Similar to the mobile toilet cubicles, there are also mobile urinals for outdoor use. The most common type consists of a cross-shaped plastic structure with four openings for urinating. These are mostly used at major events such as concerts, festivals or sporting events. They are intended for free public use.
Channel urinal
The pee channel is a special form of the urinal. It differs from the classic urinal in that it consists of a large collecting basin that is used by several people at the same time. Pee channels are usually made of stainless steel and are mostly used in heavily frequented locations. Peeing gutters are cheaper to buy, but use far more water and are less user-friendly.
Gender specificity
Urinals for both sexes
Public toilets are very rarely designed as unisex toilets in Japan , which means that they can be used by men and women alike. Sometimes there should also be urinals that are used by both men and women. Urinals for women have a long tradition in Japan. For example, female urinals were being built in Japan during the Meiji period in the 19th century, long before they appeared in the West.
Urinals for men
In the most common form, the urinal is specially designed for men. Its design is designed for the male body. In toilets with a gender segregation, urinals are usually only found in men's toilets.
Urinals for women
The female urinal is adapted to the anatomical requirements of women. Female urinals are particularly suitable for use in public toilets that are highly frequented at rush hour and have to expect a large crowd, i.e. primarily in facilities such as discos , clubs, event locations and the like. Bettina Möllring, professor of design at the Muthesius Kunsthochschule in Kiel and an expert in the design of public toilets, sees the provision of women and unisex urinals as an essential path to gender equality (“potty parity”) in the sanitary area.
equipment
Gadgets and nudges
In many public toilets, visual media such as newspaper covers or advertisements can be found above the urinals. Occasionally, screens with television programs are installed at eye level.
In addition, various companies offer various gimmicks that are intended to be used for entertainment, fun or as a “ nudge ” to keep urinals better clean: The “pee kicker”, consisting of a plastic “lawn”, has achieved the greatest popularity Goal and a ball suspended in it, the task is to hit the ball into the goal with a stream of urine. A variant of this consists of a heat-sensitive sticker, here too a ball must be made to disappear in the goal by means of a targeted hit. These adhesives are also available with other motifs such as a smiley face that is sad at first and then laughs in contact with urine. A fly in the urinal is designed to encourage users to aim at it in order to produce fewer misdirected splashes.
An American manufacturer sells small devices that are installed in the urinal, analyze the urine stream and warn the user if the alcohol level is high: a voice can be heard advising against driving a car in this state.
For some time (2005) in the Munich Ratskeller a measuring device was installed on a urinal, with which the sugar in the urine could be measured.
Another invention from America was registered for a patent in 2004: It is a kind of headrest that allows the user to lean comfortably against the wall while urinating. The implementation of this innovation is still pending.
Both in Japan and in the Anglo-Saxon region, urinal gaming systems have been developed, a mixture of urinal and video game, in which simple computer games are controlled on a monitor at eye level of the urinal user above the urinal by means of the user's urine stream. The interactive urinal is exclusively in Japan since 2011, Sega sold, the British Captive Media sells its similar but ad-supported systems worldwide.
"Peeing aids" for women to use urinals
The Whiz was developed for women , a small, disposable plastic funnel that enables the use of normal (men) urinals. It is distributed specifically at festivals and some are distributed free of charge. This enables women to use the available urinals standing forward and upright. This counteracts the problem that not enough places of need are available, especially at festivals. In addition to the main purpose of making women more comfortable at festivals, it can also restrict urination in public.
The idea was first implemented in 2004 at the Glastonbury Festival and the Isle of Wight Festival and was very popular, meanwhile the Whiz has also been distributed at several other festivals. In some cases, pink urinals were set up to encourage women to use them. In addition to the success of Whiz, other manufacturers have also launched similar products under names such as MyLaFemme or Shewee .
The urinal as an art object
Marcel Duchamp's Fountain
In 1917, a commercially available urinal called a “ fountain ” caused a sensation in the history of art as part of the ready-mades invented by Marcel Duchamp - an art form in which found everyday objects, mostly mass-produced by industry, were declared objects of art.
Marcel Duchamp was one of the co-founders of the Society of Independent Artists Inc. (SIA) formed in 1916 and one of its twenty-one directors. For a fee of six dollars, members were allowed to show a maximum of two works of art in an annual exhibition, with no censorship and no preselection by a jury taking place, following the example of the French Société des Indépendants. Under these conditions, Duchamp decided to experiment with a ready-made. He bought a urinal from the New York sanitary ware manufacturer JL Mott Iron Works, like the one used in public lavatories for men.
This urinal was submitted as a work of art under the title "Fountain" in 1917, but the company refused to display it. The English word “Fountain”, borrowed from French, means (fresh) water container, basin as well as spring or fountain. In a figurative sense, the word stands for root and origin. Duchamp used the signature “R. Mutt ". The not written first name of the pseudonym is known from direct sources as "Richard" ( The Blind Man No. 2). The object lost today is recorded in a photograph in the second edition of The Blind Man (New York, May 1917) on page 4. Fountain became a media event and its "non-exhibition" sparked controversy over the concept of art .
Replicas authorized by Duchamp in various designs can be found in the collections of various museums around the world.
Controversy over kisses! -Urinal
The urinal Kisses! by the Dutch designer Meike van Schijndel, which was used in Virgin Atlantic club lounges at airports, among other places , triggered a violent campaign by the feminist National Organization for Women . This criticized the urinal, which is an open mouth with bright red lips, as misogynistic and sexist.
On the part of the airline and the designer, the humorous and rather harmless character of these urinals was emphasized, but without meeting with understanding from the other side.
The protest was recorded as a success by the feminist organization, the urinals had to be taken out of circulation.
The Kisses led to a similar debate ! - Urinals in Vienna . Here they were run in the Opernpassage, which led to strong protests by feminists in 2006, who saw it as a “place of demonstrative contempt for women”. The landlord was put under pressure under the leadership of the "Aktion Independent Women (AUF)", which was later joined by the Green City Councilor Monika Vana. Here, too, was finally turned in and the urinals removed.
In Lüchow there were also protests by women in 2012 against the kisses placed in the men's room of the newly opened Stones Fan Museum ! -Urinals. Museum owner Ulrich Schröder had attached the mouth-shaped basin based on the logo of the rock band The Rolling Stones, which was honored with the museum, and refused to dismantle them.
Installation, dimensions and technology
The standard height for the top of the lower edge of the opening of a traditional male urinal is 63 to 67 cm. Depending on the design, the manufacturers sometimes provide a different height. While DIN 18022 roughly specifies a width and depth of the urinal of 40 cm each, modern flat urinals are sometimes only 20 cm deep. Here the manufacturers often provide a height of the edge of the opening of about 70 cm in order to reduce the urine from splashing out during use. The VDI 6000 Part 1 also mentions a height of 65 to 70 cm.
Especially in the case of water-saving urinals, the drainage is often blocked by urine stone after a few years , which can hardly be removed with water pressure alone. Mechanical removal is only possible with good access to the entire course of the process. When installing frequently used urinals in commercial areas, it is occasionally recommended to use DN 80 to DN 100 drainage pipes laid in the floor and under plaster, in order to prevent the pipe from becoming clogged with urine stone for as long as possible. If the siphon is integrated in the urinal body , it is either replaced after a few years or the drain must be kept free by regular use of chemical urine scale remover .
In older urinals, the spout was partly in the middle and was led down vertically so that any external siphon could be connected, which could be easily cleaned and replaced. The drain siphon was also rarely included in the ceramic body. With modern designs, the drain runs horizontally and ends a few centimeters in front of the back wall of the urinal. Special flat compact siphons are attached to the drain and allow urine and flushing water to escape a little deeper. This must be taken into account when determining the height of the drain in the wall. Since the siphon is completely surrounded by the urinal body, the urinal must be dismantled to replace the siphon. Mechanical cleaning is made very difficult by the compact, angular design. The removal of urine stone can almost only be done with chemical means. Some modern urinals have an opening at the bottom. Instead of the compact siphon, a pipe bend can be connected here to lead the drain downwards and connect a deep-seated, external siphon there. Although this is visible from the outside, it makes maintenance much easier.
literature
- Bettina Möllring: Toilets and urinals for women and men: the design of sanitary objects and their use in public and private areas. (Dissertation Universität der Künste Berlin 2003/2004. ( Full text online ), PDF, free of charge, 176 pages, 3.5 MB).
Web links
- Criteria for the urinal - aspects of use, hygiene and water consumption
- www.urinal.net - Photo collection of urinals worldwide (e.g. at the South Pole) ( English )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jens Lubbadeh: Urinals: Important facts about the quiet place. In: Der Spiegel , December 12, 2012.
- ↑ Kyriakou, D., & Jackson, J. (2011): We Know Squat About Female Urinals. Plumbing Connection, (Autumn 2011), 54 ( PDF )
- ↑ Urinal without flushing water (urimat) , urinal without flushing water (culu)
- ↑ Japanese Toilets. In: richard-seaman.com . (English)
- ↑ Injustice: Fewer public toilets for women than for men - Deutschlandfunk Nova
- ↑ Badische-zeitung.de , Bildung & Wissen, May 12, 2016, Bettina Kalmbach: "Nudging": How citizens should be directed (May 14, 2016)
- ↑ gastronomie-report.de: Pissball: sporty stickers for the urinal ( Memento from December 4, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ abqtrib.com: Urinals speak out against DWI ( Memento from November 21, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Forehead support apparatus (US6681419) In: Google Patents .
- ^ Dougal Shaw: Toilet gaming technology targets urinal boredom. BBC News of November 28, 2011 (accessed April 1, 2014).
- ↑ ( page no longer available , search in web archives: She-Pee women's urinal )
- ^ Heinz Herbert Mann: Marcel Duchamp: 1917. Silke Schreiber, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-88960-043-3 .
- ^ Tell Virgin Atlantic: There's Nothing 'Fun' About Exploiting Women ( Memento April 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), National Organization for Women
- ^ Wolfgang Koch: Places of demonstrative contempt for women. In: taz.de , October 16, 2006.
- ^ Björn Vogt: Rolling Stones Museum in Wendland. Storm in the pee basin In: stern.de , February 9, 2012.
- ↑ dpa: Music: Trouble with Stones toilets in Lüchow In: focus.de , January 29, 2012.
- ↑ Bruno Bosy: Installation dimensions - sanitary heating - ventilation , In: Bosy-Online.de; accessed in April 2019
- ↑ Installation height of urinals not agreed, tenant sees shortages, who is to blame? , In: Frag-einen-Anwalt.de, November 12, 2013
- ↑ Geberit competence brochure : Sanitary room planning - planning and equipping of sanitary rooms , January 12, 2018