Dounia Kelchtermans
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Bachelor’s thesis — Industrial Design

Ecoloo

A compost toilet for festivals: a sustainable, ecological alternative to the familiar toi toi.

Round Ecoloo toilet units spread over a festival site in front of a stage
Type
Bachelor’s thesis
Period
February – June 2024
Team
Individual
Focus
User-centred & sustainability
(01) — The project

Rethinking the festival toilet.

Ecoloo is a conceptual compost toilet designed as a sustainable and ecological alternative to conventional festival toilets. The project rethinks the familiar shape of the typical toi toi toilet and explores two possible configurations to improve both use and placement on festival sites.

The design focuses on the human and technical aspects of sanitation. Dimensions were carefully defined and tested, while usability for visitors, organisers and maintenance teams remained central throughout the process. Material choices and production techniques were considered with sustainability, efficiency and economic feasibility in mind.

(02) — Process

Sketch, build, test

01

Ideation

Sketches explored the shape of the cabins, the composting system, ventilation and how units can be combined into clusters or rows on a festival site.

Sketchbook spread with concept sketches of the toilet, the compost system and possible configurations
02

1:1 prototype

A full-scale prototype was built to check whether the dimensions were realistic: how it feels to step inside, sit down, close the door and move around in the cabin.

Half-round OSB panel with a jigsaw on a workshop table
Sawing the panels
Open wooden frame of the prototype with curved floor and seating platform
Building the frame
Full-scale prototype of the toilet cluster in the workshop
The full-scale cluster
Toilet seat on the prototype's seating platform
Testing seat height
View from the seat towards the open door of the prototype
Testing legroom
(03) — The result

Two configurations

The same modules can stand as a round cluster of four cabins in the open field, or be split into half-round units that line up along a fence.

Half-round Ecoloo units lined up along a fence Round Ecoloo unit with four cabins
Set up for several days
Set up for a day
(04) — In use

For visitors and crews

Designed for everyone who deals with it: the festival visitor, the organiser who places it and the maintenance team that empties it.

  • Festival attendee entering a cabin

    A festival attendee enters the restroom.

  • Festival attendee seated inside a cabin

    The attendee uses the restroom.

  • Forklift removing the waste tank from underneath a unit

    The waste tank is removed with a forklift.

  • Heras fences being installed between the units

    Heras fences are installed between the units.

(05) — Materials & production

Built from one mould

The design was adapted several times to fit the production technique. Three identical rotationally moulded modules come from the same mould and are riveted together; the doors are cut out. The bottom plate and waste tanks are also rotationally moulded, the outer tank rests on a polyethylene block so a forklift can lift it, and the roofs are vacuum formed.

Exploded view of Ecoloo showing roofs, cabin modules, door, tanks, support block and bottom plate
  • Fixing pins—
  • RoofVacuum forming
  • Sawdust tankRotational moulding
  • Sawdust guidance plateRotational moulding
  • Inside tankRotational moulding
  • Outside tankRotational moulding
  • FlangeRotational moulding
  • Bottom plateRotational moulding
  • Door—
  • Toilet seat / urine trap—
  • Trash can—
  • Sawdust mechanism—
  • Support blockPolyethylene
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