THE shortlist

LUXURIOUS LAVATORIES

IN LONDON ...

Ladies' Room, 5th Floor, Harvey Nichols: Early Nineties decor mixes a delicate wrought-iron screen with clinical white tiles and sinks. Colours are deep lilac, peach and metallic grey. Very stylish loo.

Westbourne Grove, W2: In 1993 Kensington & Chelsea brought in its own designer, Piers Gough, to create this extraordinary triangular building covered with pistachio-green glazed bricks.

The Luxury Ladies' Room, 3rd Floor, Harrods: Minimalist marbled basins, gold taps and infra-red flushes are hampered by what looks like wood chip decor in beige and cream. Once you're through the impressive portal and have paid the pounds 1 entrance fee, you could be in any Holiday Inn loo in the country.

St George's Hospital, Tooting: The Grosvenor Wing lavatories made the front cover of the Architects Journal and boast the first British installation of a state-of-the-art infra-red control system (instead of taps and flush handles, the user simply waves his or her hand across the beam).

AND BEYOND ...

Wolferton Royal Railway Station, Norfolk: Edward VII had his own personal urinal here, decorated in dark blue and gold. Among the crowned heads of Europe to pass through the station and presumably make use of the convenience were King Carlos of Portugal (1902), the King of Spain (1907) and the German Emperor (1899).

Market Place, Hull: The gentlemen's convenience, built in 1901-2, has 11 marbled slate urinal stalls, two marble flush tanks with bevelled glass fronts and six water closets with mahogany seats. A delightful mint-green edifice with decorative pillars.

Wigan College of Technology: The gentlemen's convenience has two "Diamond" urinals built between 1878 and 1882 which both have a small bee "target" for men to aim at to avoid splashing.

Rothesay Pier, Bute, Scotland: Costing pounds 300,000, these public toilets are the most expensive in Britain. Grade A-listed loos, with mosaic flooring, marbled basins and glass cisterns.

Kinloch Castle, Island of Rhum: A perfectly preserved 19th-century water closet with matching cistern. A feat of engineering in its time.

Compiled by Cayte Williams