Competition launched to imagine future of public washrooms in Toronto

The Toronto Public Space Committee has launched a global design competition aimed at imagining the future of public washrooms in the city.

The global design competition invites designers, architects, urban planners, and creative thinkers from around the world  to propose design ideas for inclusive and innovative public washrooms to help advocate and spread awareness for the urgent need of a robust public washroom network in Toronto.

Despite the necessity of public washrooms, the Toronto Public Space Committee notes that the city has a severe shortage, leaving many residents, particularly unhoused individuals, gig workers, families, and people with disabilities, without access to this urban infrastructure. As a result, this competition aims to emphasize the essential nature of washroom access in the city.

In this competition, entrants are being tasked to design a network of public washrooms for the City of Toronto that includes one single-user toilet, washroom designed to be flexible for installation at multiple sites and one multi-user hub washroom sited at Dufferin King Parkette. It is seeking bold ideas that integrate spatial justice, accessibility, sustainability, and cultural inclusion into the design of a multi-user washroom hub and single-user washroom, adaptable to different locations throughout the city.

While Toronto’s South Parkdale neighbourhood has been chosen as the site for the design, these washrooms should be flexible enough to be sited across a large diverse city, from urban to suburban centres.

This call for entries is open to all participants globally. All entries must be in English. There will be a non-refundable $25 entry fee to participate. All entries must be received with payment by 11:59 PM EST on May 27, 2025, to be eligible for judging.

The top three competition winners will receive a cash award, have their work published in Toronto’s Spacing Magazine and showcased along with selected entries in a public exhibition in Toronto this July. The first prize winner will be awarded $1,500 CAD, and the second and third prize winners will receive $500 CAD.

Results will be announced July 10, 2025.

For more information, click here.