Highland Park Construction Rule Inspires ‘Sitting Pretty Porta Potty Screen Contest’

Highland Park is implementing a new requirement that portable toilets be screened from the public’s view at residential construction sites. No one wants to pooh-pooh* the new rule, so instead, two Dallas companies are encouraging creativity and responding with humor.

Sardone Construction and HPD Architecture launched the “2015 Sitting Pretty Porta Potty Screen Contest” Monday. Here’s the challenge:

We are challenging you – our readers, friends, and colleagues – to design a porta potty screen of your own. Something with a bit of flare! Maybe a little splash! A screen that says, “When ya gotta go, you might as well do it in style!”

“When I got the email from Highland Park, they included a couple of pictures, examples [of screened portable toilets], and all I could think was, ‘We can do better than that!,” said Larry Paschall, architect and founding member of HPD Architecture. “Those plywood boxes aren’t necessarily going to look any better than the portable toilets. Why not see what people can come up with?”

In the email sent from the Highland Park Building Inspection Department to contractors, they wrote,”Our department is requesting the very best quality of screening that you can provide.” No one wants wasteful spending, but this contest might elicit some spectacular design options.

The town’s No. 1 and No. 2 concerns were that portable toilets are unsightly to the public and bothersome for neighbors.

“A typical construction area looks like a missile testing site and in the middle is a bright blue or bright orange porta potty that looks bad,” said Stephan Sardone, owner of Sardone Construction. “I was thinking how funny it would be if we had really ornately designed screens for these porta potties that fit their new rules.”

The contest runs through June 29. Sardone Construction will build the winning entry, and that person will also receive a plaque and a $100 gift card. Second place receives a $75 gift card, and third place, a $50 gift card.

“We’ll take the winner’s entry, build it, and show it off,” Sardone said. “We’re opening up this contest to everybody and we’ve had a lot of good feedback.”

For contest rules, design parameters, and submission requirements, visit the 2015 Sitting Pretty Porta Potty Screen Contest + Guidelines.

We’ll be sure to stay on top of this contest and share the winners’ designs with you!

* Assistance with terrible puns in this blog post provided by Richard Nolen