Public toilets in Paris by Chartier-Corbasson “elevate the ordinary”

French studio Chartier-Corbasson Architectes has transformed a neglected underground passage beneath the Trocadero Gardens in Paris into a public restroom, using an industrial-feeling palette of stainless and weathered steel.

The project forms part of the ongoing OnE masterplan, a competition-winning scheme to develop the public spaces and gardens around the Eiffel Tower that was awarded to Paris-based Chartier-Corbasson Architectes and London studio Gustafson Porter + Bowman in 2019.

The public toilets occupy a tunnel through the Trocadero Gardens that was originally designed for the 1937 Universal Exposition by Roger Lardat, framed by distinctive openings in bush-hammered concrete and lined by flint walls that were etched with graffiti by US soldiers at the end of the second world war.

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The tunnel had long been closed to the public, used instead as a storage area for the city’s cleaning services. For its renovation, which has been shortlisted in the Heritage project category of Dezeen Awards 2026, Chartier-Corbasson Architectes looked to highlight its thoughtful, utilitarian design while giving it a new purpose.

“Far from being a mere functional adaptation, the project, entirely off-site, transforms a closed, neglected, and invisible space into a high-value, integrated, and dignified public amenity situated in a busy urban environment,” explained the studio.

“By restoring meaning and form to a previously purely utilitarian space, this project demonstrates that architecture can elevate even the most ordinary uses, while having a significant impact on the city, its users, and its collective memory.”

The distinctive pink-toned bush-hammered entrances at either end of the tunnel have been carefully restored, and now frame a series of new Corten steel gates that incorporate sculptural seating elements at either end.

The original domed skylights that illuminate these entrance spaces have been updated with custom-made glass blocks, while below, their form is mirrored in a series of circular stainless-steel sinks.

The majority of the toilets occupy a row of stainless-steel cubicles inserted between the flint-lined walls of the central passage, creating a two-way route with doors that open on alternating sides.

As much as possible, the existing structure was adapted with minimal intervention, demonstrated by a series of cubicles that have been tucked into a series of curved niches at one of the tunnel’s entrances and simply fronted with stainless-steel doors.

“The direct reuse of the underground space, without expansion or alteration, demonstrates a restrained and intelligent approach to urban transformation,” said the studio.

“The intervention focuses on a clear material contrast: the systematic use of stainless steel highlights the original flint walls and concrete, further enhanced by strategic artificial lighting,” it added.

As part of the project, Chartier-Corbasson Architectes introduced natural ventilation into the subterranean spaces and also created new stainless-steel gutters to help manage water infiltration from above.

Given its setting in a high-traffic public park, the new elements were predominantly constructed off-site to minimise disruption and on-site waste.

Other projects that have recently sought to elevate public toilet design include a toilet block in London by Studio Weave, which is clad in contrasting panels of stone salvaged from a demolished office building, and the 17 Tokyo Toilets designed by famous architects.

Photography by Romain Meffre & Yves Marchand

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