Urban Sculptures

The San Francisco Department of Public Works has supplied a series a public amenity kiosks throughout the city since 1995. Located throughout the city, the combined kiosks are part of a program with JCDecaux, New York City, which covers the cost of construction, installation and daily maintenance. Program costs are offset by advertising revenues. A 2018 invitation-only design competition to redesign and re-envision the kiosks led the San Francisco office of SmithGroup to be selected for the project.

The four different types of AmeniPODS—public toilets, advertising kiosks, retail and interactive wayfinding—are designed to complement each other, forming a family of kiosks. “With a clear awareness of the importance of these public amenities in our urban environment, the SmithGroup team set out to make these updated street furniture elements more accessible and approachable through their design and appearance,” explains Bill Katz, design principal at SmithGroup.

“The new toilet kiosks are unique to San Francisco, with a design that blends sculpture and technology to create a cleaner, safer, and more hygienic experience,” adds Katz. “Like the previous iterations, the restrooms represent the ideals of universal access and providing basic needs with dignity. They will literally reflect our diverse city neighborhoods with their deep-rooted history while creating sculptural street furniture additions to our urban landscape that are forward-looking.”

Throughout the design process, Katz says the SmithGroup team had to carefully navigate the desire to create a more sculptural solution while being sure to address the accessibility needs for the pods. To do that, the toilets are a unique sculptural shape, while the kiosks are slimmer and taller to accommodate retail and digital advertising needs.

During the research process, the SmithGroup team also received a deep dive education in trends in graffiti culture to learn how to protect the AmeniPODS from various types of vandalism. “The updated design for the kiosks shows an understanding of the maintenance requirements in a varied urban environment,” says Katz. “The exterior shell was conceived as a kit-of-parts, with a small number of repeated panels that come together to shape the minimalist, organic forms.”

This allows the panels to be easily replaced as needed, and their textured surface guards against vandalism in the form of spray paint, scratches and stickers. The AmeniPODS are as durable as possible from a technical standpoint, designed to withstand decades of public use, while maintaining an elegance and simplicity of design.

For the project, JCDecaux supplied 15,500 square feet of mottled stainless steel wall panels from Italy-based Fielitz. A total of 139 AmeniPODS—25 toilets and 114 multifunction kiosks—are located throughout the San Francisco area. The toilets are approximately 103 square feet each, and the kiosks are approximately 30 square feet.

“The various kiosk design concepts look to sculptural simplicity as a guide for design and engineering decisions,” adds Katz. “Their mottled, polished exterior cladding creates a connected family of kiosks that take on different appearances depending on the nature of their surroundings reflected on the units. The specific shaping of the form navigates accessibility requirements, breaks down the kiosk massing and maximizes the artistically distorted reflections of people and place.”

Additionally, Katz says, the mottled stainless steel shell serves as a functional exterior creating a dynamic appearance that transforms over the course of the day and year with the evolving climate and solar access of its surroundings.

Staffing at select locations are provided through the city’s PitStop program, which features trained attendants to help connect the homeless to services and help motivate those with a substance use disorder or a mental health problem to seek treatment. The attendant worker program provides an opportunity for men and women who are qualified to work, but face barriers to employment, to earn a living wage and receive training in data collection and customer service, while being surrounded by social service and supervision. Additionally, the micro-retail elements provide opportunities for small incubator businesses to grow in an urban city where costs and regulations have kept success out of reach.