Lobster loos, Public toilet and tourist attraction in Wellington, New Zealand.

The Lobster loos are two concrete tentacles at Kumutoto on the Wellington waterfront, each bent into a barrel-vaulted tunnel and clad in a red-orange steel shroud of bolted plates. One opening faces the viewer with a dark brown door and a lighter panel door beside a small red box; the other end is a circular dark entrance ringed by a grey and white rim. Updraft through the tentacles ventilates them.

Designed by architect Bret Thurston from Studio Pacific architects and constructed at a cost of $375,000, the Lobster loos were built as part of Wellington's commitment to innovative public infrastructure.

The nickname "lobster loos" is unofficial and drew objections from Māori, who consider it improper to pair a food name with a toilet. The two shells stand in the Kumutoto public space beside Queen's Wharf on the Wellington Waterfront, where they serve passers-by and waterfront workers.

The toilets are open from 7:00am to 11:00pm, not around the clock. They stand in the Kumutoto public space near Queen's Wharf on the Wellington Waterfront, and air moves up through the two concrete tentacles to ventilate them.

The name "lobster loos" is unofficial and drew objections from Māori, who consider mixing food and toileting in one name inappropriate. The pair of concrete tentacles works as a ventilation shaft: air drawn up through them carries odours away without fans. The build cost $375,000, twice the price of an ordinary facility.