MOULE
Self-sustainable Modular Public Toilet
Final Year Project
Think Green, Think Sustainable
2021
OVERVIEW Ever felt like answering nature’s call in an outdoor environment but there isn’t any toilet nearby? According to research, an average person uses the toilet 5 times a day. With that in mind, a toilet is considered an essential in our daily lives. However, most outdoor public toilet shares the same issues, which includes cleanliness and maintenance issues, and the lack of usability for priority personnel. Users often encounter stinky smelling toilets that are not well maintained. Furthermore, fixtures such as the water closet, urinal, sink etc. are either damaged, vandalized, or missing. Through observation, most outdoor public toilets are not catered for all types of users, especially priority personnel. For instance, elderly, pregnant women, and disabled (OKU) groups. Besides, toilet in general relies on a sewage treatment system that poses a great amount of environmental threat. Waters are contaminated, and old leaking pipes allows human waste to leach into the earth. Moreover, Humans waste collected from the portable toilet are often dumped into landfills where airborne bacteria will grow if not treated properly. The idea for this project is to design an outdoor public toilet that is suitable to be used by all types of public users, while promoting eco and sustainable lifestyle to the public by integrating modern green technologies. It shall provide every user the best toilet experience, just like they are using one at home.
CONTENT PRODUCT DESCRIPTION INSPIRATION EXPLODED VIEW INTERIOR FEATURES Lighting & Ventilation Wall Panels Flooring Common Unit Urinal Unit Nursery Unit
EXTERIOR FEATURES Facade Panel Handless Door Off-grid Sink Janitorial Storage
SUSTAINABLE FEATURES Solar Powered Rainwater Harvesting Humanure Composting
PHONE APPLICATION SECTION VIEW
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION Moule is a Self-sustainable Modular Outdoor Public Toilet which aims to provide the best toilet experience in an outdoor environment. The implementation of green technologies and the usage of sustainable materials helps to promote sustainability to the public. To achieve self-sustainable capabilities, Moule is fully solar-powered with smart energy-saving features. Also, it features a rainwater harvesting system that provides water supply for flushing and cleaning. Moule uses a compact humanure composting chamber which turns waste into organic fertilizers for agricultural purposes, that simultaneously helps reduce environmental pollution as well. Moule features 3 different internal setups (common, urinal, nursery) catered for different public users. Besides, the Moule phone application allows users to check nearby toilet availability when one is urgently in need.
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INSPIRATION
The Baya Weaver, part of the Ploceidae family were best known to build intricately woven nests that resembles the shape of a flask. Nests may be constructed with plant fibers or twigs. Grasses are often preferred for their pliability and reliable abundance. The nest begins with a single strand, knotted to a branch with beak and claw. Then, the strands are threaded through others at opposing angles. From the first knot, an entrance is built. It must be large enough for the birds to enter, but small enough to restrict predators from entering. The ideal design has a long tube that connects to a chamber, which will optimistically serve as the nursery.
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EXPLODED VIEW 1. Solar panel
12. Base structure
2. Topping
13. Flooring
3. Tensile roof
14. Right side facade panel
4. Left side facade panel
15. Solar battery
5. Extrerior supporting structure
16. Rainwater collection cistern
6. Front facade panel
17. External off-grid sink
7. Janitorial storage rack
18. Interior wall panel
8. Janitorial storage sliding door
19. Rear facade panel
9. Entry door
20. Rain gutter
10. Stairway
21. Topping supporting structure
11. Composting chamber
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INTERIOR FEATURES Versatile, Comfort, Functional are the 3 attributes that were set as the priority while designing the interior of Moule. Public toilets were meant to be used by all public users which includes children, elderly, and other priority personnel. But a standard layout will never meet that requirement. Hence, Moule provides 3 different internal modules catered for different groups of public users. Parts can be easily disassembled thanks to its modular and portable nature.
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Lighting & Ventilation Making good use of the flask-like design, natural lighting is able to shine through the strips of wood from the topping, acting as a sunshade and providing light source during the day. Besides, gaps were left open between the wall panels and the topping to allow air circulation inside the cubicle.
Motion sensor equipped rim light mounted at the bottom of the topping, provides light source for the interior during the night.
Natural lighting shining through strips of wood from the topping, casting unique lighting effects into the interior.
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Wall Panels Each wall panels are split into 3 equal parts for portability and easy assembly. No screws are required for the assembly as it uses a slot-in method to hold the panels in place. The centre of the panels are hollowed to reduce its weight and save unnecessary materials.
Recycled HDPE plastics are crushed into small flake-like pieces, which were then poured into a mould with epoxy resin. Resulting in a cloudy and murky looking piece of wall panel with vibrant coloured plastic flakes showing through.
Flooring Moules flooring is designed to drain water effectively keeping the cubicle clean and dry, while being able to stack onto each other tightly without water dripping through. The tiles are easily modifiable simply by cutting and trimming. It is also easily replaceable by swapping each piece with a new one.
The material of the tiles has a soft touch rubber-like property with rough textures to prevent users from accidental slip and fall.
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Common Unit The common unit has a standard cubicle layout which features a stainless steel water closet, a bidet spray, and a recessed toilet paper dispenser and trash bin combo set. However, the toilet utilizes a humanure composting method to reduce the usage of water as it flushes out covering materials (peat moss, saw dust etc.) instead of water. The covering material acts as a bulking agent to the compost pile by absorbing excessive liquid, keeping it dry and preventing it from cross-contamination.
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Urinal Unit As the name implies, the urinal unit is a men-only unit which features a floor mounted stainless steel urinal. A mini sink is placed right beside the urinal, and a standard wall recessed paper towel dispenser and trash bin combo set across all modules. The urinal uses no water as it features the Waterless Co Inc. waterless urinal technology, EcoTrap. It uses a gel-type sealant to trap the smell and urine within the drain. Besides, it is designed to be used by all age groups including children.
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Nursery Unit A unit specially designed for pregnant women and mothers of young. It features a foldable seat, a mini sink, and a Koala Kare KB110-SSRE, horizontal recessed mounted stainless steel finish baby changing station. It is the most compact module, but the most useful among the three. User can maximize usage of the space by folding and unfolding provided features. Moreover, the sink is still accessible even when the baby changing station is unfolded.
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EXTERIOR FEATURES Inspired by the Baya Weavers Nest, Moule formed its unique shape that resembles a flask. A wood strip facade design is a modern and simplified interpretation of the strands of grass and twigs of the nest. The same facade design carries through the entire exterior of Moule, giving it a uniform look. The entry doorway uses a neutral grey colour scheme to match with the slightly sloped tensile roof that acts as a shade and a rainwater collection medium.
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Facade Panel Red Meranti wood was chosen as the material for the facade. It is a yellowish-grey sapwood, with pale pink to reddish brown colorization. It has a uniform texture with slight graining which provides a warm and elegant look. It grows typically in the tropical lowland forests in countries such as Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. It is an ideal choice for exterior facades and cladding due to its natural property to adapt with any surface finishing.
Inspired by the traditional Japanese woodworking joinery, L-shaped dowels were used to lock each piece of wood strip onto the hanger. Assembled panels were then hung onto the steel structure on top and bottom, keeping in sturdily in place.
Gaps between strips of wood were remain open, allowing natural lighting to pass through and casts beautiful lighting effects. Besides, it provides airflow to the items beneath it.
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Handless Door Unwanted contact with the door handle can be avoided by using Moule. It features a QR code at the side of the door, after user scans it, the door willautomatically opens and locks itself. When exiting the toilet, a foot button is placed on the right side. Gently tap it with your foot and the door will open and closes itself.
The sign of the common unit lits up in green which indicates it is not occupied. On the contrary, a red light on the sign indicates it is occupied or not available.
Off-grid Sink An off-grid sink is placed externally for public users who just need to use the sink. The countertop uses the same material as the interior wall panels. The faucet and drain were PVD coated for extra protection from the coarse outdoor environment. Behind the sink facade holds a wastewater tank and a stainless-steel trash bin.
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1. Epoxy resin & recycled HDPE plastic countertop 2. 30-gallon wastewater tank 3. Stainless steel trash bin
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Janitorial Storage Unused space on each side of the door is utilised wisely by putting in customizable racks for janitorial utilities. The rack uses 12-gauge stainless steel legs and trays with perforated holes. The tray features 2 hooks on each corner that secures it onto each leg. Besides, 4 pieces of removable pegboards were locked in place on the back of the rack providing more flexibilty and customizability.
A sliding door inspired by the Japanese sliding shoji screen features the same strip wood facade across the entire body, but with curved tracks mounted on top.
The customizable rack features 8 holes on each leg which could accommodate 8 trays in a rack in total. Spacing between each hole are 22cm height. The total height of the rack is 170cm.
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SUSTAINABLE FEATURES Moule features various self-sustainable technologies. Supplies taht an ordinary toilet will need such as water and electricity, complex underground sewage pipelines were not needed in Moule. It harnesses power from the sun and turning it into electricity to power itself. A rainwater collection system is used to collect rainwater. A humanure composting chamber replaces the use of sewage pipelines, simultaneously making good use of human waste by turning them into organic fertilizers for agricultural purposes.
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Solar Powered A solar panel is placed on top of the topping with a 30-degree inclination towards the sun. The topping is 360-degree rotatable due to its specially designed circular base, which allows the solar panel to face any direction it needs to work effectively and efficiently. Harnessed power are then stored in a solar battery mounted on the side that will provide power for Moule to work at night.
LG Chem RESU 13 lithium-ion Solar Battery - Capable of storing 252Ah of power and outputting 12.4 kWh.
Items which require power includes lighting, handless door mechanism, exhaust fan, and the water filter.
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Rainwater Harvesting To eliminate the usage of water supply pipeline, Moule features a rainwater harvesting system that collects water. A tensile roof is fixed on top of the rain gutter providing a big surface for rainwater to land on.
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Rainwater Collection Cistern – Capable of holding 210 gallons of water. Water can be manually filled in.
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Rainwater Harvesting Process – Rainwater will land on the tensile roof (1), then it will glide into the rain gutter (2) which will then flow into the cistern (3) where it will be stored and filtered internally.
Humanure Composting Traditional sewage treatment system causes severe water pollution on its own, without taking leaking pipes and open-air dumping of human waste into consideration. By mimicking the nature’s way of decomposing organic matters, a man-made composting method can make good use of human waste by turning them into nutrient-rich compost soil for agricultural purposes.
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Composting Chamber Assembly – Solid and liquid droppings are separated with a separator (1) inside of the chamber. Liquid will drip through the separator with holes into the bottom casing (2) whereas solid waste and covering materials will remain on top of the separator. By removing the top casing (3), compost can be collected when its ready. Besides, a simple exhaust system with a fan (4) that sucks air from the chamber and releasing it through a pipe is fixed on the side of the toilet, keeping fresh air in the toilet.
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Light Theme
Dark Theme
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PHONE APPLICATION A phone application is designed to pair with Moule. The Moule phone app allows user to check any Moule location, status, and availability. User must use this app to scan the QR code on the door to use it. Besides, the app features 2 theme (light and dark) to pair with users’ phone settings. When launching the app, it shows the app logo and its name. Then, user will be directed to a map page where user can check the Moule nearby. User can drag around the map to look at Moule in other places as well. Other than that, user can also search for a specific area and check Moules’ availability in that area. To go back to the current location, simply just tap the locate button on the bottom right. To check the status of Moule, tap on the Moule icon and a window will slide up from the bottom. In the window, user will see the images and the location that it is located. Users can leave comments and ratings after using it for others to review and the developers to acknowledge the issues. Moule status is shown in an easily understandable graph which indicates electricity, water, and capacity. The shorter the bars are, the lesser electricity and water are left. Whereas the longer the bar on the capacity means its capacity is lesser, which indicates its almost full.
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SECTION VIEW
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Basic Dimensions
Techincal Data
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Total height - 5184 mm Interior height - 2400 mm Roof slope angle - 3 degree Topping height - 1800 mm Facade panel height - 3134 mm Sink height - 813 mm Raised height - 535 mm Entry doorway height - 2100 mm
5mm frosted polycarbonate sheet 1.5mm painted aluminium rain gutter 80x50mm (LxW) facade panel wood strip 3mm fibreglass wall panel support 1137x25x800mm (LxWxH) wall panel 3mm flexy plastic tunnel panel 2mm PVC coated polyester membrane tensile roof 11 gauge steel supporting structures
Top elevation
Front elevation
Side elevation
Rear elevation
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Email: leewilliamdesign@gmail.com Contact: 012-234 1271
2021