Eight toilets to be refurbished across the borough in bid to replicate Victorian civic pride in public sanitationDesigns for a toilet on Victoria EmbankmentWestminster council has appointed Hugh Broughton Architects and artist James Lambert to refurbish eight toilets in the borough as part of celebrations for World Toilet Day.The council said the 12.7m project, part of a wider strategy to rethink the provision of toilets across Westminster, will bring together architecture, engineering and art to deliver a holistic vision for equitable space in the heart of the capital.Toilets at Victoria Embankment, Parliament Street, Piccadilly Circus and Green Park will all receive an extensive refurbishment in 2024 and 2025 with Carnaby Street, Westminster Pier, Covent Garden and Leicester Square due to be upgraded from 2025.Hugh Broughton Architects, the practice behind the refurbishment of Cliffords Tower in York, has been commissioned for the scheme by Westminsters infrastructure partner FM Conway along with Healthmatic and the Contemporary Art Society.Some of Lamberts designsIt aims to use high quality and inclusive design to address issues of maintenance and antisocial behaviour which affect Londons public toilets.Westminster said the project will seek to enshrine as much civic pride as the Victorians displayed when they first started looking at a proper sanitation system for the general public in the 19th century.Artist James LambertThe scheme will employ a shared material palette to maintain design consistency across the eight sites, while allowing the expression of the history and overlooked and previously under-represented aspects of each local area.Some of Lamberts designsThe first toilets to open will be on Victoria Embankment, featuring lines of energy intended to represent Joseph Bazelgettes complex feat of engineering, and an embankment guardian sphinx.There will also be design references to the London Underground and the sights of Victoria Embankment Gardens, along with the Thames as seen in a stylised Tattershall Castle Steamer and abstracted anchors and palm trees echoing the historical importance of the river in shaping global sea trade routes.A proposal for the Piccadilly Circus toiletHugh Broughton Architects founder Hugh Broughton explained: Whilst our designs deliver consistency, James Lamberts engaging art will give each its own character, aligned to local context.Westminster councillor Paul Deimoldenberg added: This is part of the councils ongoing commitment to enhance our public realm and enrich the cultural experience of residents and visitors. And we hope the artwork, which will tell a story of Westminsters diversity and vibrancy, will capture the publics imagination.World Toilet Day, on 19 November, is an officialUnited Nationsinternational observance dayseeking to inspire action to improve sanitation across the world.A design motif to be used on a toilet near the Palace of Westminster