Bathroom Lighting

A washroom is a room for washing one's hands (such as a lavatory); the term also is used to denote a public toilet, comfort room, toilet room, bathroom, or restroom (see above). Some washrooms also include full-body bathing facilities such as shower. more...

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Washroom architecture refers to the architectural design and layout of washroom facilities, usually of a public commercial, or industrial facility.

Terminology

Usually the term "washroom" is used to denote a public, commercial, or industrial personal hygiene facility designed for high throughput, whereas a similar term "bathroom" is used to denote a smaller, often residential facility for lesser throughput (i.e., often for only one person at a time to use). The word originated in the United States and is currently the preferred term in Canada; in American English, "bathroom" or "restroom" are now more common (except in Chicago, where "washroom" is still standard). In Britain, Australia, Hong Kong (as toilets) and New Zealand, the terms in use are "public toilets" and (more informally) "public loos". In the rest of the world (usually Africa, Middle East, and Southeast Asia) the term "Comfort room" is used. Furthermore many European washroom doors are simply marked "WC", for water closet, which may be confusing for non-Europeans. One reason some Americans prefer "restroom" over "bathroom" is that restrooms do not have bathtubs. The word "washroom" is also sometimes used in the United States to denote a "laundry room" or utility room.

Gender and public washrooms

Separation by sex is so characteristic of public toilets that pictograms of a man or a woman are used to indicate where the respective toilets are. These pictograms are sometimes enclosed within standard forms to reinforce this information, with a circle representing a women's toilet and a triangle representing a men's facility. Symbols such as the DOT pictograms have been criticized for perpetuating gender stereotypes; however, there may be no practical alternatives.

Sex-separated public washrooms are a source of difficulty for some people, such as those with children of the opposite sex, or men caring for babies when only the women's washroom has been fitted with a change table.

Sex-separated public washrooms are often difficult to negotiate for transgendered or androgynous people, who are often subject to embarrassment, harassment, or even assault or arrest by others offended by the presence of a person they interpret as being of the other gender. Transgendered people have been arrested for using not only bathrooms that correspond to their gender of identification, but also ones that correspond to the gender they believe themselves to have been assigned at birth.

Many existing public washrooms are gender-neutral. Additionally, some public places (such as facilities targeted to the transgendered or homosexual communities, and a few universities and offices) provide individual washrooms that are not gender-specified, specifically in order to respond to the concerns of gender-variant people; but this remains very rare and often controversial. Various courts have ruled on whether transgendered people have the right to use the washroom of their gender of identification.

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