Content creator Nursultan Kamzebayev showcased unusual public restrooms in Astana on Instagram.
Their special feature is that the glass walls are completely transparent when the stalls are vacant. However, as soon as a visitor presses the button inside, the glass immediately turns opaque.
According to the content creator, there are three such stalls installed. Entry is available via a QR code, which is also used to make a small payment.
Kamzebayev emphasized that the interior is clean and smells fresh. Hot water is available and it is rather warm — even hot — inside the stall. The design is finished in white minimalism.
These toilet stalls are located at the intersection of Kenesary and Mambetov Streets.
Users in the comments joked about a hypothetical blackout and how the stall would react in such a case, but overall they seemed pleased.
Notably, these are not the first restrooms of this kind in Kazakhstan. In October 2024, similar stalls were installed in Shymkent under a project by Miras University, which was completely self-funded without municipal support.
The concept of transparent toilets was invented in Japan in 2020. The project by architect Shigeru Ban used transparency to show whether the inside was safe and to highlight the idea of absolute cleanliness.
In late July, Jack Sim, founder and head of the World Toilet Organization, also known as Mr. Toilet, arrived in Shymkent to assess the city’s public restrooms.
