But Is It Art? The Grand Water Closet
My pal Leo likes to say he wants to be reincarnated as a Smithie. I think it has something to do with the top notch-food served at Smith functions. (Leo’s a real foodie.) Well, Northampton’s Smith College is a pretty phenomenal institution, and food isn’t all they do right. They’re also quite impressive when it comes to their facilities. Smith’s Brown Fine Arts Center houses the coolest public bathrooms I’ve ever used. When the college hired New York City-based Polshek Partnership Architects to rebuild and expand their art building, they also commissioned former Smithies, Ellen Driscoll and Sandy Skoglund, to design the restrooms. The resulting lavatories are so spectacular that even I, who despise using public toilets, never pass up a chance to pee at Smith College Museum!
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more photos after the jump!
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thanks to Mark for taking photos in the men’s room!
-Steph Gerolimatos
February 21, 2009 at 3:01 pm
i’ve peed there, it was great!
February 22, 2009 at 3:10 am
I like the tile work there. Wouldn’t the painting upon the ceramic of the commodes wear off? Unless it’s glazed on, I guess. I’ve seen a catalogue for stuff to decorate toilet seats. Cabelas. If I recall one seat had bullet rounds in it, another nails. It really says a lot about where men get relgated to to effect the decor of a house. And that’s fair depending upon how it breaks down for who spends the most time on average in it. All that stuff looked pretty much for just a hunting cabin kind of thing, with deer antler handles on the silverware and etc.
February 22, 2009 at 9:35 am
the toilets, sinks and tiles are all glazed. these are professionally designed and crafted. if you follow the art building link, there’s info about the Brown Arts Center renovation. it was a massive, massive project.
“Well, Northampton’s Smith College is a pretty phenomenal institution, and food isn’t all they do right. They’re also quite impressive when it comes to their facilities. ”
^^^this was a pun yes, but on a serious note and in a broader sense, it’s true that Smith College has incredibly impressive facilities.
February 27, 2009 at 12:44 pm
I pissed in one of those.
March 28, 2009 at 8:21 pm
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