Engineered to be hoisted vertically, Lendlease’s “wellness pods” are the first modular restrooms introduced in the construction industry. Photo courtesy of Lendlease

Gateway cities are becoming increasingly land-challenged. In many cases, spreading out or expanding city limits with new construction is not practical. 

As a result, the land availability limitations we are experiencing mean one thing: we must develop and build up and not out. When it comes to these types of projects, there’s a logistical challenge for workers and construction companies: What to do when a worker needs to use the bathroom? 

It may seem like a small thing, but when it comes to high-rise projects that have hundreds and hundreds of workers, the inconveniences and loss of productivity associated with individuals taking bathroom breaks starts to really add up. 

 A Persistent Problem for High-Rise Projects 

The way it stands right now, bathroom breaks on high-rise projects are an arduous process. A worker needs to stop their work, alert their peers and then wait for a hoist to arrive and take them to a level with the nearest on-site toilet. Once they’ve finally made the journey, which at times can be quite a distance, they are likely to find other workers in line waiting.  

Not only does this make every bathroom break an incredible waste of productivity, it’s also frustrating for the workers themselves. In addition, the temporary facilities commonly used on job sites are lacking basic comforts most people take for granted. 

Here at Lendlease, our vision is to create the best places, and we have a firm belief that showing the utmost respect to our workers and trade partners is key to that vision. We can’t succeed in creating the best places unless we have the best tradespeople, and we are committed to creating an environment and an experience on our project sites that attract and retain the very best tradespeople in the industry. In that vein, we have been on a mission to solve the longtime problem of the high-rise construction project bathroom break.  

Workers will no longer need to wait for a hoist to take them all the way down to the ground level every time nature calls.

Reaching a solution has been a challenge, as they always are for construction projects. Such projects involve risk, costs and while we are thrilled to be a part of the increasing diversification of the construction industry, we are also aware of and eager to solve the challenges that can come with that increase in diversity. 

 A Restroom Designed for Demanding Environments 

After trial and error, much research and a long planning period, we are thrilled to finally have a fix to this specific challenge: We are currently rolling out an innovative, patent-pending solution to the high-rise construction project bathroom break, which we are calling “Wellness Pods.” These will be the first fully functioning modular restrooms ever introduced in the industry. They are specifically engineered to be lifted and hoisted vertically. 

As a result, they can be deployed on even the most demanding high-rise projects. Due to their sustainable, modular design, they can fit into a wide variety of built environments. And, most importantly, we are confident that they will ultimately result in happier, more productive workers on our job sites across the country. Workers will no longer need to wait for a hoist to take them all the way down to the ground level every time nature calls. Instead, they can use a pod directly where they are working, saving time, energy, resources and headaches.  

Mike Fratianni

In the world of innovation, you can’t achieve transformation if you don’t have the culture and methodology to support innovative thinking around human design. The wellness pod was “hatched” in one of Lendlease’s “idea hacks,” focused on driving safer outcomes in which we brought together diverse teams of employees, trades and subject matter experts to solve the most vexing problems in our industry 

We are very much looking forward to introducing the pods to select projects in every one of our major operating markets in North America, and are confident that Lendlease’s new wellness pods will further our mission to create the best places. 

Mike Fratianni is managing director of construction for Lendlease Americas. 

Reinventing the Bathroom Break in High-Rise Construction

by Banker & Tradesman time to read: 3 min
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