Inclusive Restrooms

Campus Inclusive Restroom Study

In 2022-23, the ICEO and Office of Campus Planning sponsored a Campus Inclusive Restroom Study to outline an approach to improve inclusivity in MIT’s nearly 700 public, non-residential restrooms, which occupy more than 200,000 square feet of space across the Cambridge campus. MIT engaged JSA/MIXdesign, a cross-disciplinary team of subject matter experts including designers, facilitators, and regulatory advisors.

In addition to benchmarking peer institution precedents and best practices, the study team engaged many stakeholders across the Institute, including diversity, equity, and inclusion staff; facilities staff; the All-Gender Restrooms Working Group; the Disability Employee Resource Group; Student Disability Services; and the Office of Religious, Spiritual and Ethical Life. 

The study findings inform a toolkit of guidelines for restroom design and planning principles for restroom distribution. Project teams at MIT are now piloting the restroom design guidelines in renovation, new construction, and minor retrofit projects. The restroom distribution framework considers the mix of restroom types across MIT’s main campus and will be used to inform future plans to renovate existing restrooms or build new inclusive restrooms.

For more information about the study and its design guidelines and distribution planning principles, see the Office of Campus Planning.

Additional resources

• Visit the beta digital restroom directory to access a map of restrooms by type and location.
• Contact the team with any questions.