GERMANY: Berlin residents and tourists enjoy newly opened luxury public toilet which resembles nightclub or hotel lobby

Record ID: 1251997

  • Title: GERMANY: Berlin residents and tourists enjoy newly opened luxury public toilet which resembles nightclub or hotel lobby
  • Date: 12th May 2006
  • Summary: (L!3) BERLIN, GERMANY (MAY 8, 2006) (REUTERS) PAN DOWN: "WC" PUBLIC TOILETS SIGN NEXT TO CENTRAL BERLIN'S GEDAECHNTNISKIRCHE CHURCH RUINS ON BREITSCHEIDPLATZ SQUARE, PAN TO ENTRANCE OF UNDERGROUND TOILETS WIDE OF "EUROPA CENTER" SHOPPING MALL NEAR ENTRANCE TO PUBLIC TOILETS CLOSE UP OF "WC" SIGN PUBLIC TOILETS EMPLOYEE SHOWING MAN THE WAY TO MEN'S ROOM CLOSE UP: OILET DOOR OPENING AND AMERICAN TOURIST JOANNE BURGIO WALKING TO SINKS, WASHING HER HANDS (2 SHOTS) TOILET CLOSE UP: GERMAN PORCELAIN MAKER'S "VILLEROY & BOCH" LOGO ON TOILET BOWL (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOANNE BURGIO, AMERICAN TOURIST FROM VIRGINIA (ASKED WHETHER THERE WOULD BE A MARKET FOR THE TOILETS IN U.S. CITIES) SAYING: "Very much so. In New York City, in the big cities I'm sure it would do very well." MAN ENTERING MEN'S ROOM CLOSE UP: MEN'S ROOM PICTOGRAMME MAN WALKING PAST (SOUNDBITE) (German) NGHI NGUYEN SAYING: "I've never seen it before. It's the first time I used it and I really like it. Everything is new, it's even cozy and so clean. I like it!" EMPLOYEE CLEANING MIRROR (SOUNDBITE) (German) ANDREAS KLOTH SAYING: "It's nice and clean here. But actually, I don't care. I just needed to go to the restroom." TRYGVE MONSON, NORWEGIAN LIVING IN BERLIN, LEAVING UNDERGROUND PUBLIC TOILETS AND WALKING UP STAIRS, PAN TO RUINS OF CHURCH (SOUNDBITE) (German) TRYGVE MONSON, NORWEGIAN LIVING IN BERLIN SAYING: "Toilets in Germany are generally clean. I come from Norway where toilets are generally dirty. But they also cost 50 cents -- at least. So the toilet industry in Germany is very good and it's possible this could become an export article." HANS WALL, FOUNDER OF "WALL AG", EXPLAINING ON MODEL HOW HIS "CITY TOILET" WORKS AND POINTING OUT THAT IT CAN ALSO BE USED BY PEOPLE IN WHEELCHAIRS DESPITE CONFINED SPACE BECAUSE TOILET BOWL TURNS ONCE WHEELCHAIR IS INSIDE CLOSE UP: SIGN ON MODEL READING "CITY TOILET" MODEL TOILET AUTOMATICALLY TURNING SIDEWAYS TO BE CLEANED CLOSE UP OF WALL LOOKING AT MODEL TOILET (SOUNDBITE) (German) HANS WALL, FOUNDER OF "WALL AG" SAYING: "Now we want to expand to cities like London and Paris, cities which don't have such good restrooms. Toilets which can be accessed by the handicapped are missing. We've had them for years. That's why Berlin is important to us as a shop window. We would like to take our products which have been successfully launched in Boston to other cities where toilets are not that great." CLOSE UP OF BERLIN TV TOWER WITH CENTRE DECORATED AS A FOOTBALL FOR UPCOMING WORLD CUP (SOUNDBITE) (German) HANS WALL, FOUNDER OF "WALL AG" SAYING: "We offered them one for free but I'm not so sure it was such a good idea. Only a test. I heard that London's mayor was saying "why does Wall do that? Why would he want to offer it to us for free?' There you have that distrust again. But he doesn't have to be suspicious. It's just like buying a new car: you take a test drive. So I'm anxious to find out whether we will soon get the go-ahead." WOMAN BEING SHOWN WHERE TO INSERT COIN AND DISAPPEARING BEHIND TOILET DOOR
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  • Location: Germany
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  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text:Passers-by in Berlin in need of a restroom can now treat themselves to the latest in toilet high-tech and cleanliness in the centre of the German capital. An elegant mix of stainless steel, frosted glass and warm colours creates an atmosphere reminiscent of a nightclub entrance or a hotel lobby. Even the smell does not remind visitors of a toilet -- because there isn't one, thanks to the air conditioning in the underground public restrooms at Breitscheidplatz square. A flight of stairs leads down to five restrooms for men and five for women which were recently completed at a cost of 750,000 euros (950,900 in U.S. dollars). An elevator for the handicapped means people in wheelchairs can also use the facilities. "It's the first time I used it and I really like it. Everything is new, it's even cozy and so clean," Nghi Nguyen told Reuters Television. Andreas Kloth, a tourist from Germany's Baltic Sea coast, agreed. "It's nice and clean here. But actually, I don't care. I just needed to go to the restroom," Kloth said. Norwegian newspaper journalist Trygve Monson who lives in Berlin working as a foreign correspondent, turned out to be somewhat of an expert in the subject. In 1969, he told Reuters Television, he carried out a study of public toilets across his home country, "just for fun." "Toilets in Germany are generally clean. I come from Norway where toilets are generally dirty," Monson said. "But they also cost 50 cents -- at least," he said, referring to the price tag for a trip underneath Breitscheidplatz square. "So the toilet industry in Germany is very good and it's possible this could become an export article," Monson said. This is just what Hans Wall, the luxury toilet's inventor, maker and sponsor has in mind. "We want to expand to cities like London and Paris, cities which don't have such good restrooms. Toilets which can be accessed by the handicapped are missing. We've had them for years," Wall told Reuters. "We would like to take our products which have been successfully launched in Boston to other cities where toilets are not that great," Wall said. His company, Wall AG, has been making "city furniture" for 30 years and currently employs 560 people in seven countries, with a turnover in 2005 of 125 million euros (158.5 million USD). According to Wall, his company's 5,000 products are strewn across Berlin, 200 of them so called "city toilets." A toilet bowl automatically turning sideways means people in wheel chairs can also use the facilities which have only very limited space inside. Wall does not charge cities for his public toilets and instead gets revenues from advertising space outside the toilets and at bus stops and newspaper kiosks his company builds. American tourist Joanne Burgio, visiting from Virginia and asked whether she saw potential for the product in other U.S. cities besides Boston, said "very much so. In New York City, in the big cities I'm sure it would do very well." (1 USD =.7887 Euro)
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