How does one ensure sammaan, or diginity, when designing toilet facilities for the slums of India? UPD Chair Rahul Mehrotra’s answer made him the Open Innovation Challenge winner.
The Challenge was issued by Project Sammaan, an initiative dedicated to redesigning and improving sanitation facilities for the informal settlements stretching across India. The award selection team was unanimous in its selection of Mehrotra’s firm RMA Architects. The Project Samaan blog states: “Amongst the entries received for the Architectural Design Challenge, there is one that stands out for its extremely sound contextual understanding and the effectiveness with which it translated insights into design directions…RMA’s entry was a standout as it brought great insight as well as empathy. Our team holds both qualities near and dear to design activities.”
Download the RMA presentation boards (PDF) to see details of the designs.