Bathroom Break Find the U.Va. Lavatory with the Most Luxury by Kate Zimmerman photo by Jill Nussbaum Think back to First year. Do you remember when you took a bathroom break from your 2:00 How Things Work class only to discover that the Jesse W. Beams laboratory of the Physics building has the most beautiful bathrooms you've ever had the privilege of using in your short life? And, as a result, every year since you've been willing to suppress your increasingly urgent desire to pee and make the ten-minute walk from Cabell simply to use the bathroom in peace? We at the Dec appreciate your motivation and candor, and are here to help. We've compiled our annual review of bathrooms available to you, gentle reader. Now you don't have to take a science class in Gilmer just to discover that the conditions of the bathrooms are bad enough to make you not want to major in biology. Bathrooms on Central Grounds fall into three basic categories: the pre-1960s buildings, such as Clarke and the as-yet-unrenovated Rouss, the 1960s and '70s buildings, like the glass and brick behemoth Gilmer and the New Dorms, and what I have previously referred to as the GE Soft White style -- the yellow walls and carpet of Bryan, Minor, and Darden. The Eisenhower Years Ike brought several things to this great nation -- the nuclear age, highways, Kansas. Low on his list of accomplishments one might also find pea-green tile and pleather-couched sitting rooms. But the university, ever the Eisenhower devotee, immortalized even his lesser achievements in the bathrooms of New Cabell. Unfortunately, 1950s-era opulence doesn't hold the appeal it once did, and the high-traffic nature of Cabell restrooms means they're destined to disappoint. This user found several of the women's bathrooms out of order, producing an odor that made it difficult to enjoy my restroom experience. And despite the oversized mirror available for prettying up (surely to avoid time delays in the sink concourse), I came away feeling that my time could have been used more wisely. The men's restroom was only a marginal improvement, given the 150-odd extra years available to the university to perfect it. The heavy wood doors and marble walls, though initially appealing even in stark contrast to the tile selection, were marred by desperate university attempts to sandblast away gay graffiti. And, as the male evaluator commented, the stall-urinal ratio was stall-heavy. Rouss, whose sweatshop nature is only emphasized by the fact that the heat is turned up to anorexic levels, is worse yet. Our climb to the second-floor men's nook left my evaluator dizzy and light-headed; we had to break before proceeding. Old Cabell's laughable attempt at "bathrooms" consisted of one or two stalls, a mirror-per square foot average previously unheard of in women's bathrooms, and a utility sink in the men's restroom. And as much as I adore the old-world charm of the hand-crank paper towel dispensers, their impracticality in today's bathrooms should be evident. Free Love Reigns McCormick Road, built in part to accomodate the influx of women, represented a new era in restroom design. Bathrooms became more open, almost airy, and their color schemes less oppressive. Pink and gray were the vogue tile choices of these decades. The free love philosophy had struck even old-school U.Va. Gilmer Hall certainly reflects this sea-change. The bathrooms in the older left side of the building can meet the restroom needs of several patrons at one time; their functional appeal cannot be denied. But in the closed-door, sedate 1990s, they're far from comfortable. The stall doors are too small, not granting full privacy to some of our taller students. Also, the dim green light that seems to cover Gilmer with a depressing, slightly radioactive pall is in full effect here. The right side of Gilmer is a marked improvement, probably because it was built later, but the entrance is only a slight break in cinderblock indistinguishable to all but the most trained eye. On the front door of the left side women's bathroom, the ubiquitous woman wearing a dress that tells us which door to choose has peeled off, leaving behind only a misfit art deco sign marked 'ladies' above the door that seems hopelessly out of place. In a very real way, that sign is the legacy of free love's dalliance at U.Va. -- small, unhappy, and destined to fall by the wayside. The Age of Reason The '80s witnessed our own difficult childhoods, and perhaps the same could be said for the progress of bathrooms nationwide. The rest stop standard, seemingly dictated from Reagan, fell into place; the university is still trying to break free of its disturbing sameness. But the heights of the age can be dizzying indeed. The saving grace of Central Grounds is Cocke Hall. Its eclectic design is, simply put, a hidden treasure. Located on the basement floor, these ultra-modern wonders are unknown and thus seldom used. After passing through the women's room salon, you'll be amazed at how well the clean lines and color scheme evoke the businesslike 1980s. Further, the Cocke hall restrooms are equipped with the new wave in energy-saving -- the automatic light sensor (ALS). The ALS automatically senses when a person enters the room and operates the lights accordingly. Surely Cocke must now be counted on the leading edge of U.Va. bathroom technology. Bryan was the first building in the 1990s that struggled to find a new measure. But can it legitimately be called a success on the same grand scale of Cocke? Hardly. The GE Soft White style (named after the prominent 1990s low-wattage light bulb that emphasized subtlety over '80s excess) is less a new measure than a reaction to what came before it. And the muddled design of the bathrooms of Bryan are the result. Although the entryway is pleasing enough, with recessed lighting over the sink area and a checkerboard tile border, when actually going to the bathroom you'll be struck by the change from the look of new-age psychotherapy to stark white hospital fluourescence. While I couldn't single out any flaws in these bathrooms on the level of Gilmer or Cabell, they seem confused about what they're trying to say -- like the building itself. Newcomb, however, fares better. Its bathrooms are indeed representative of what U.Va. must have intended to be the architectural achievement of 1995-1997 -- a nod to the future, while still rooted firmly in the past. If you avoid mealtimes, the bathrooms (especially on the less-traveled Pavillion level) are bound to be deserted, and the bowls themselves are a blinding, pure white previously unknown on Grounds. Their simplicity of design speaks volumes; take the time to treat yourself to its spare luxuries. Not every restroom at the university was reviewed -- I'm sorry to say I'll probably never experience the neo-classical grandeur of the Aquatic Fitness Center -- but perhaps now you'll have a better idea of some bathroom basics. And, in your own search for perfection, you'll find some pleasing eccentricities. The mirror on the inside of the stall door, third floor Bonnycastle, is one I will never forget.

back to Decweb main