CATONSVILLE, Md. -- The coronavirus is forcing experts to rethink the design of all kinds of public spaces, including the most private of those spaces.
Today's bathroom stalls usually have partitions that conceal only the bare minimum. The idea of partitions that leave open space originated to create easy-to-clean restrooms.
Kathryn Anthony is the vice president of the American Restroom Association and is an architecture professor who thinks a lot about American restrooms.
"There's great room for improvement," Anthony said, "and in this era of COVID, it's more and more important that we all have clean, safe restrooms to go to.
Right now, the American Restroom Association believes there are too many surfaces to touch and too little privacy in the privy.
Companies are getting creative, blocking off urinals, making bathrooms touchless, even having attendees in the bathroom to remind users to wash their hands.
Businesses like American Standard Company are developing all sorts of new touchless devices to make your trip to the loo a little cleaner.
