Toilet Tuesday: PooPooPaper

This is the first ever Toilet Tuesday!! Rejoice and be glad. It is a weekly (or attempt at weekly) spot on The Acrapolis for toilet innovation and news. Today's focus is PooPooPaper, which is exactly what you are thinking, and yes apparently it is possible.

"We are number one at number two". I know exactly how this company feels. PooPooPaper is a sustainable paper producer that makes it products from elephant poo. As you might think, elephants have a very fibrous diet which makes for great paper making dung. I think William McDonough would be very proud, it is a very Cradle to Cradle business venture. Check out their website, its has some really great stuff. I think there next product should be toilet paper, how could you complete the cycle any more!

Helsinki, Finland: Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art

Since we are on Finland Tour 2010, we naturally will start in its capital and largest city, HELSINKI!!! A wonderful city that is surprisingly only 190 miles west of St. Petersburg, Russia. You wouldn't necessarily think that right away but after touring the city you can sense a "sovietness" to it. The city is full of great design and designers and as such is one of Scandanavia's stylish meccas.

The name for the museum "kiasma" is a Finnish translation for "chiasma" which is often used in biology and anatomy meaning a crossing, like that of the optic nerves at the base of the brain. Such a definition gives light to the design, specifically the many floating bands of egress. The building is surrounding by many great works of architecture design mostly by Nordic architects such as Eliel Saarinen's Helsinki Station to the east, and Alvar Aalto's Finlandia Hall to the north. Holl's design was picked through a design competition that was intended mostly for Scandinavian architects which caused some controversy.

The building is filled with soft light, many curved surfaces and large voids. It was completed in 1998 and is set on an important feature of the city, The Mannerheimintie, one of the main thoroughfares of Helsinki. This visit marked a special occasion because it was the first bathroom I occupied and took photos of. Documentation is a important feature of my difficult work. The lavatory (yes the lavatory, I am running out of synonyms for bathroom) was a single user type, which I saw a lot of overseas. I have to admit, it seemed as though an intern threw its design together at the last minute. It was small enough that I could make and wash my hands at the same time. It also did not include a window for a view or at the very least some natural ventilation. The most interesting part was the sink. It appeared to by a brushed bronze or copper and was covered in dents like it was made of rock or something. A pretty nice detail. If I had a ranking system, which is currently in the works so to speak, I would give it a 3 out of 5.

FINLAND!

The closest I have been to the North Pole was Finland. And since it is the holiday season I thought we'd travel there next...why not. Finland was full of firsts for me. Three of which all occurred at or around the same time. I am assuming the first was drinking several Karhu beers, Finland's most popular beer. I am assuming it is the most popular not for its taste or refined brewing process, but more likely because of the vicious looking bear on the can, which made it clear that if I didn't buy and thoroughly enjoy this beer, it would attack me. Second was experiencing Finland's national pastime, a oppressively hot sauna in the dense woods of Finland, followed by a naked plunge into a frozen pond......7 times. The third was warming up next to the fire over which I cooked and subsequently ate the world's most mythical meat, reindeer, which was delicious. Although, I couldn't help but feel like I was ruining Christmas somehow. The rest of the trip was full of other fun experiences both in and out of the bathroom.

Utzon Center: Aalborg, Denmark

The Utzon Center is located in the small harbor city of Aalborg and is dedicated to the man who not only gave Sydney an opera house butt also gave Australia a cultural icon. Jorn Utzon's architecture was inspired by his childhood in Aalborg where his father was a renowned boat designer and naval engineer. Although, designing the Sydney Opera House, Utzon never saw its completion. He left Sydney seven years before construction was finished and became known, to many, as a recluse architect that declined several invitations to return to Australia. Before becoming a great architect in his own right, Jorn Utzon traveled the world much like myself, perhaps leaving a mark in his own way too. He worked under Alvar Aalto and admired the work of both Gunnar Asplund and Frank Lloyd Wright. His competition entry for the Sydney Opera house consisted of only preliminary drawings and one judge in particular found it be "genius". Eero Saarinen, fully supported Utzon revolutionary design and vowed not to back another one of the many entries.

The Center is built on a prominent part of the harbor-front and is home to exhibitions, virtual presentations, and an Utzon Archive. My visit also included a social with architecture students from Aalborg but soon Danish cuisine had something more to to say than Danish the students. I too had to resort to seclusion but unfortunately not to Majorca. However, the washrooms were not too unlike the tropical Spanish Island where Utzon spent much of his time. Clearly ship construction came in handy for bathroom design because I had a bon voyage. It was clean, sleek, and gently flooded with natural light. Who knows, with that kind off performance it might just be this years Danish representative in the first ever Toilet Bowl.

Wescott House: Springfield, OH

Maybe it was my calling, or just nature doing so, butt The Westcott House was where The aCRAPolis began. I was just a guy appreciating an American architectural masterpiece that couldn't hold it any longer but relieving myself with Wright was an almost religious experience.

The Westcott House is Frank Lloyd Wright’s only Prairie Style home in Ohio and has undergone some extremely successful renovations. Designed in 1906 and built in 1908 the house is a cultural icon for Springfield. The Westcott House Foundation also sponsors lecture series, design exhibits, and many educational programs for students and adults. It is a prime example of Wright’s organic architecture. Unique elements include the roman brick hearth, the pergola connecting the house to the garage, and the solid oak toilet seat.

The washroom was the best evidence of FLW’s meticulous attention to detail and made for a most enjoyable number two. It even included a pull chain toilet like that which would have been used by Burton J. Westcott himself. Besides top of line hardware, the bathroom was filled with excellently crafted woodwork, not unlike the rest of the house.

Interesting fact: The detached garage includes a large turntable like those found in railroad yards because the automobiles of that era could not drive in reverse.