An urban Parks Department requested that new restrooms, serving approximately 1,000 people, be constructed in order to make them as vandal-resistant as possible with specific care taken to preserve the current vegetation and present an appropriate aesthetic design.

The site for the new facility was chosen for its centrality between an open air picnic pavilion, a baseball diamond, a children’s playground, a music stage, and an outdoor amphitheater. Three large mature trees were situated on the small site that served as the best location for the new facility, and the stated policy of the Parks Department is not to cut down trees for new construction.

Synthesis designed the new restroom as two mirror-image buildings, connected by a roof canopy. The square buildings were angled on the site so that the existing trees would not be affected. Thus the main central tree, around which the new concrete sidewalks were constructed, was able to be saved, as well as the two other mature trees. A brick masonry facade and concrete interior provides durability, and the detailing presents an appropriate scale and quality level befitting this important city park.