Latvian design and build workshop Zeltini has made answering the call of nature into an environmental statement with the “Temple of Poop,” a timber outhouse that composts human waste into fertilizer for a rooftop garden. Built on the designer’s property in Latvia, the project celebrates “humanure” while simultaneously raising awareness of the benefits of human waste compost as a potential replacement to animal-based fertilizers.
Designed by Zeltini founder Aigars Lauzis, the Temple of Poop — also known as the Z-BIOLOO — was produced as part of the design studio’s mission to better the world with sustainable projects. Clad in blackened timber to recede into the landscape, the contemporary, timber-framed outhouse features a Biolan composting toilet that automatically separates liquid from solids to turn human excrement into compost. Once ready, the compost can be used to fertilize the rooftop garden or the adjacent field.
To elevate the user experience, the Temple of Poop features a large, glazed opening to frame views of the landscape. A chimney with a kinetic revolving cowl was installed to extract unpleasant odors from the outhouse and help speed up the composting process. At the same time, a second chimney with an electric fan draws in the pleasant fragrance from the flowers grown on the roof into the building to continually introduce a fresh flow of oxygen. The outhouse walls are insulated to provide comfortable and stable temperatures year-round.
“Being a vegan household, we don’t want to use animal-based fertilizers,” the design studio explained. “More than 7 billion people can easily fertilize this planet, and there is no need for meat / dairy industries to do it for us.” The Temple of Poop project was designed and built by Aigars Lauzis and Andis Veigulis in 2018 for approximately 3,000 euros (approximately $3,270).
“Temple of Poop” grows a flowering rooftop with human waste [Inhabitat]