By Lindsey Coulter��

School restrooms have long been viewed as purely functional spaces, but educators, architects and administrators are increasingly recognizing that��restroom design can��have an outsized impact on safety,��wellness��and the overall student��experience. Rather than focusing solely on gender inclusion, many districts are rethinking restroom design as an opportunity to improve comfort,��privacy��and supervision��for all users.��

That shift is prompting architects to move beyond traditional multi-stall restroom layouts in favor of designs that create greater openness in shared spaces while offering significantly more privacy where students need it most.��Prompted in part by the AIA’s��“Inclusive restrooms & locker rooms in K-12 schools” report��from��2024,��more education leaders and design partners are��reimagining��these critical spaces to offer��a more dignified approach to the traditional��restroom��experience��that also nets��better student health outcomes.��

Rethinking the Restroom��

According to Joel Williams,��Studio Director for Quattrocchi Kwok Architects (QKA) in the firm’s Castle Rock, Colo., office,��the conversation has evolved well beyond accommodating specific student populations.��

“Restrooms are one of the most challenging spaces on a school campus,��from the student��experience standpoint and from the supervision standpoint,” Williams said. “It’s not a space��that��administrators can easily moderate. The bad stuff that happens on��a campus��often happens in a restroom.”��

For Williams, the discussion begins with a simple question: Are school restrooms actually serving students?��He often��references Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs when discussing restroom design with��education��clients.��Before students can fully engage academically, they must first feel physically safe and comfortable meeting their most basic needs.��

“Having things like air, food, water, shelter, sleep and clothing are foundational, and I think bathrooms fit in that layer,” Williams said.��“When students��avoid��using��the bathroom at school, that’s a very clear sign that it’s a problem.”��

Stakeholder engagement sessions reinforce that conclusion. When Williams asks students,��parents��and teachers to describe school restrooms, the responses��often include words such as “smelly,” “dirty,” “dark,”��and��“sketchy.”��Vaping,��bullying��and general discomfort are��also��recurring concerns.��

Balancing Privacy��With��Supervision��

The greatest design challenge lies in balancing two competing priorities: creating��enough��privacy for students while��maintaining��enough visibility to discourage inappropriate behavior.��Rather than hiding the entire restroom behind a single door, many newer concepts shift openness deeper into��the space. Shared handwashing areas become visible from adjacent corridors, while individual toilet rooms are enclosed with full-height walls and doors��for more visual and acoustic privacy.����

Because the shared areas��remain��visible, staff members no longer��have to��enter enclosed restroom spaces to��monitor��activity. Students moving in and out naturally create��additional��accountability, while security cameras can��monitor��circulation zones without compromising privacy inside the toilet rooms.��

The approach also addresses newer concerns such as digital bullying. Traditional partitions leave gaps above, below and beside stalls that can expose occupants to unwanted photography or harassment. Full-height compartments��largely eliminate��those vulnerabilities.��

Small Details Can Improve Comfort��

Beyond the overall layout, Williams believes��seemingly minor��design decisions can significantly improve the user experience.��Things like��door hardware��and��occupancy��indicators��to reassure users that the door is secured��contribute to reducing anxiety.����

Accessibility is another opportunity to improve restroom functionality.��

Williams advocates��for��including sinks within larger accessible toilet rooms. While originally intended to serve wheelchair users, these spaces can also provide��additional��privacy for students dealing with medical conditions, menstrual��hygiene��or other personal needs.��

“It’s about providing space that accommodates other people who need whatever special considerations they may have on that particular visit,” Williams said. “That’s an example of how we can make these spaces better for��everybody.”��

Read the full article in the Design & Construction issue of 91ԭƬ, available now.

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The architecture firm ��—��with��offices��in Santa Rosa, Calif.,��and Oakland,��Calif. —��recently advanced��it’s��2030 vision by��establishing��an office in Castle Rock, Colo.��The��nearly 80-person��firm now has three employees in Colorado��supporting��projects across the company and��as they��look to build a strategic pipeline of opportunities in��the region.��Led by Studio Director Joel��Williams,��AIA,��LEED AP, ALEP,��the team also includes��Project��Designers Joseph Puyot and Spencer Robinson.��

Williams joined��QKA in 2020��and��has more than 18 years of experience in education design, from��small classroom renovations to large-scale campus master planning projects. With a leadership��style rooted in collaboration and��communication,��he will build on his established client and��partner relationships to grow QKA’s presence in the Rocky Mountains.����

“This��expansion is a natural extension of our community-minded work in��California and��offers great��opportunities to build our talent pipeline in a��highly desirable��region to live and work,” Williams said.��

Williams, who will also share his insights at the 91ԭƬ (SCN)��Design & Construction Symposium��in August, spoke recently with SCN to explain why Colorado is a compelling market for K-12 design, and how architecture can help schools do more with limited resources.��

SCN:��Colorado has seen significant growth and voter support for school bonds. How do you see those market conditions shaping the next generation of school design in the state?��

Williams:��Colorado voters approved��nearly��$6 billion��in new school bond funding in the 2024 election cycle, with��additional��measures��anticipated��on the 2026 ballot. That sustained community investment reflects the same conviction��we’ve��seen across the Bay Area: that well-designed schools are worth funding, and that communities will��back��that commitment at the ballot box.��

The policy landscape is similarly aligned. Evolving energy codes in both states are driving demand for schools that prioritize efficiency, renewable generation, and reduced fossil fuel reliance. Sustainability strategies that were once aspirational—daylighting, natural ventilation, solar generation, stormwater management—are now baseline expectations in both markets. The frontier of the conversation has moved upstream, from operational energy use to the embodied carbon inherent in the materials and processes��required��to build and renovate in the first place.����

The key distinction between the two markets is demographic. California enrollment is��largely stable��or slightly declining, while Colorado’s population growth is driving enrollment increases and expanding housing development across the region. That translates into demand for both new campuses and significant modernization of existing ones.��

SCN:��Many districts are balancing enrollment growth, aging infrastructure, and budget pressure. How can architecture help schools do more with limited resources?��

Williams:��There is no universal answer to the gap between funding and��need��that every public school district faces. Sometimes a creative renovation is the right investment; sometimes demolition and replacement of an aging facility is the better long-term decision. What matters is that the solution fits the place.��

In every case, the goal is the same: buildings that meet today’s needs while��remaining��adaptable, and that incorporate systems district facilities staff can��actually operate��and maintain effectively. Architecture helps schools do more with limited resources when��it’s��rigorous about long-term cost of ownership, not just first cost—and when��it’s��honest about which investments will still be paying dividends in 20 or 30 years.��

SCN:��Colorado districts vary widely—from fast-growing suburban systems to rural communities. How should education design adapt to��very different��local needs rather than relying on one-size-fits-all solutions?��

Williams:��Every project starts with active listening. Before we reach for a solution, we work to understand what a particular district, campus, and community actually��need. We have decades of experience in school design, but we focus more on bringing that��expertise��to creatively respond to a client’s goals than on telling them what they should think. The best designs respond to the constraints that make a school community and site unique—not necessarily those with the largest footprint or the biggest budgets. Across a state as varied as Colorado, that posture��isn’t��optional;��it’s��the only approach that works.��

SCN:��You bring��nearly��20��years of education design experience. What are the biggest shifts��you’ve��seen in learning environments over that time, and how will those lessons influence your Colorado work?��

Williams:��The biggest shifts��haven’t��been in classroom layout or building configuration;��they’ve��come from the systems, technology, and construction methods that make schools work��over time. As I mentioned previously, this is��apparent��in the shift in priorities��regarding��sustainability strategies. As certain strategies become the baseline, we can move to��focusing��more on concerns like embodied carbon.����

That whole-lifecycle thinking, developed through years of California work, is a direct asset as Colorado districts make long-term infrastructure decisions. Our Colorado presence��isn’t��designed to function as a stand-alone regional office; the vision is a distributed studio model—one firm,��operating��across multiple geographies, carrying the same design standards, technical rigor, and culture that have defined QKA for four decades. For Colorado districts, that means access not just to a local team, but to the full depth of QKA’s institutional knowledge, built project by project, district by district, over 40 years.��

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