Pop-up public urinal serves late-night revelers

Indiscriminate urination is a widespread problem in urban areas, and often it’s caused by a shortage of public toilets in the parts of town frequented by late-night revelers. Designed to provide a just-in-time solution, so to speak, the UriLift is a public urinal that can be stored underground during the day and set to pop up in the evening hours, when it’s most likely to be needed. Each cylindrical, stainless-steel UriLift includes three separate, doorless urinals that can be used simultaneously. While underground, all that remains visible of the device is its circular cover, which is designed to withstand traffic class 45 and comes in 200 colours. To make the UriLift pop up for the evening, the press of a button on the device’s remote control is all that’s required; organisations such as the local sanitation department, the police or even a local hotel or bar could be given the job of carrying out this simple procedure. The urinals and drain in the UriLift are connected to the mains sewer, so that interim cleaning is unnecessary; there’s also a connection to the water mains, but the device can be supplied with a rainwater-based water tank instead, or for use without water. Lighting and heating are both available on the vandalism-proof device, and Dutch Urilift BV takes care of any occasional maintenance or relocation. Also available are the UriVisible, a non-retractable version of the UriLift, and the UriLady, which comes complete with a suspended toilet seat. UriLift currently has distributors in Holland, the UK, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, France and Italy, but it seeks new partners for other regions. Time to help beautify late-night hotspots in *your* neck of the urban jungle…? Spotted by: Thane Ryland