A single glass-encased stall in the middle of a meadow, Sou Fujimoto's new public toilet is a loo with a view. Located in Ichihara, Japan, a city of 279,000, the tiny restroom is ringed by an oval fence that shields patrons without severing visual ties to the surrounding landscape: low mountains and blossoming cherry trees that draw tourists from near and far. Adjacent to the local railroad station, Fujimoto's facility caters to visitors who arrive by train and have got to go.

The project began with a direct commission from Ichihara's municipal government. Fujimoto's task was to update the modest wooden huts enclosing the washrooms at the unmanned depot. Typically, Japanese public toilets are closed and sequestered, yet the designer wanted to engage the scenic setting. “Initially, I thought we would just open the building to the sky,” says Fujimoto. “But during design we realized that it would be even more fantastic to open it entirely.”