Staff Book and Media Recommendations

Patrick Douglas is a Library Technician at the University of Central Oklahoma.

Restroom: Contemporary Design

Jennifer Hudson

You may have seen The Travel Channel's Most Extreme Restrooms or Top 10 Greatest Restrooms in the World on television recently. Jennifer Hudson brings some of the extreme and a lot more of the unusual together in Restroom: Contemporary Design.

While some restrooms are ornate or conversely minimalist, others are humorous or quite bizarre. A few are innovative, perhaps even ingenious. This beautifully illustrated book collects and contrasts the designs, designers, forms, and functions of the world's most interesting public facilities.

Starting with a brief lesson over the history of the restroom (and the toilet itself), Restroom is then divided into chapters by setting: public conveniences, public venues, hotels, restaurants, and bars and clubs. Each highlighted restroom has several photographs, a few descriptive paragraphs about its style, innovation, or inspiration, and most have either an architectural schematic or a three-dimensional CAD drawing.

If you're interested in interior design, looking for a chuckle or two, or just plain curious about how the rest of the world does its business, check out Jennifer Hudson's Restroom: Contemporary Design. You may not look at public bathrooms the same way afterward.

Reviewed October 2009