Flush! Modern Toilet Design

In this unusual ode to the commode, Wenz-Gahler contends that since the economic boom of the 1980s, restrooms have become more inviting. Complete with hundreds of color photos, featuring washrooms in cafes and restaurants as well as hotels and administration buildings, this book addresses the design behind some of the most unique bathrooms around the world. The restrooms of Amsterdam's Supperclub, for example, are designed completely in black with light illuminating only its stainless steel toilets, urinals and wash basins. The lavatories in this club are meant to be meeting places, so instead of mirrors, the designers created windows ""through which guests can espy potential partners."" In contrast, the Torre della Sassella in Sondrino, Italy, an 18th-century lookout tower that has been converted into a restaurant, incorporates its wash basins into the rocky walls and maintains its mystical, medieval character by using natural lighting. Wenz-Gahler weaves informational tidbits throughout the book-readers learn, for instance, that as early as 2500 BC various cultures were disposing of bodily fluids using toilet-like inventions and that the U.S. is a member of the World Toilet Organization-but the sometimes blurry, too-small pictures don't do justice to these artistic designs. However, the sheer inventiveness of these creations, combined with the book's fun trivia and emphatic title, make it a perfect bathroom read.