GONDOMAR – PORTUGAL
Model: CIAO HN
Technology: S4
Date: February 2025
Client: SOMA Environmental Solutions, Lda.
Description:
The municipality of Gondomar, in the north of Portugal, has recently undergone major urban regeneration projects. This includes the opening of a new skate park in August 2024, the result of a real transformation of a long unused area. Designed by architect Marcelo Lambiasi and built by the company Wasteland Skateparks, the park demonstrates the city’s commitment to providing innovative, multifunctional and accessible spaces for its citizens.
Accessibility and sustainability are the values that most animate urban regeneration: it is with these principles that SANO2 works, which has
also installed its self-cleaning toilets in Portugal. At the request of the Municipality of Gondomar and the Portuguese company SOMA, a new SANO2 public toilet with the self-cleaning technology of the S4 series has been installed next to the modern Portuguese skate park.
This is a prefabricated outdoor unit for which the client requested two toilets: one for users with reduced mobility and one for users with full mobility, both contained in a single piece vibrated reinforced concrete structure manufactured by Prefabbricati Santerno. The toilet for users with reduced mobility complies with Portuguese standards in terms of regulations, dimensions and design for the disabled, with a fully equipped stainless steel toilet room, at the customer’s request, with double and very wide access, convenient for all types of manoeuvres. The outstanding feature of this one-piece structure is the possibility of completing the assembly at the production site, allowing both agile transport of the product and a reduction in laying and assembly time.
Another feature of the vibrated concrete block is the walls and ceiling with central polystyrene insulation: the choice of sandwich panels guarantees a high level of insulation to ensure a comfortable environment for users at all times, which can be measured using the supplied thermostat, thus saving on external energy consumption. The sustainability of SANO2 is also reflected in the management and maintenance of the public toilet: the ability to monitor it remotely using SANO2CONNECT®, the remote-control system connected to the 4G Internet network and accessible from mobile phones and desktops, drastically reduces road journeys and emissions.
The functionality of the self-cleaning toilet with S4 technology guarantees an automatic washing, disinfecting and drying system: a complete cleaning cycle takes place in less than 35 seconds after each use. Successful urban regeneration benefits people, of course, but also the environment and the aesthetics of the city: respect for the context is fundamental to these changes.
For the skate park in Gondomar, SANO2 has come up with a non-standard and absolutely unique design. In agreement with the Portuguese city council and SOMA Environmental Solutions, the public toilet was delivered with a neutral quartz colour base, ready to be used as a creative canvas for local writers who, through street art, applied a graffiti finish, integrating the public toilet into its context in a totally original way. This choice is significant: in addition to the smart functionality of these 2.0 toilets, in this case, the wall art finish testifies to the great value of public toilets.
Not just a toilet, but an integral part of a piece of furniture, a community and an urban living experience. Indeed, the message of the Portuguese park is to welcome citizens in this way: ‘Este espaço è teu! Use. Partilha. Preserva.’ (This space is yours! Use it. Share it. Preserve it).
