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50 Times People Spotted Stupid Design Decisions In Public Places And Just Had To Share
We often form our opinion of a city by judging the quality of its public spaces. If they give us a hard time, most likely we won't be too psyched about returning to it.
And unfortunately, there are plenty of ways urban planners and interior designers ruin our everyday life and force us into dreadful anxiety-inducing situations.
They make us sit on uncomfortable benches, walk around trippy floors, and go number two in bathroom stalls so revealing, others are able to see our facial expressions.
To show how ridiculous it can get, Bored Panda has put together some of the worst public space "solutions" ever created—we deserve better!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
The Chairs Waiting For You In The Laser Eye Clinic's Reception
RELATED:
#2
"I'm Sure You're All Wondering Why I've Gathered You Here Today"
To learn more about the topic, I got in touch with interior architect and lecturer of interior design at Vilnius College of Design, Judita Striukienė.
When we hear the term public space, we usually think of the outdoors. "Places like parks, gardens, and squares are often popular city attractions," Striukienė told Bored Panda. "They not only provide environmental and recreational benefits but also form a city's identity."
#3
No Words Needed Here
#4
As If Public Toilets Didn’t Give Me Enough Anxiety
Jennifer Mixson 2 years ago
I dunno, looks like the inventor could put the hellfire out...
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John McCormack 2 years ago
YOU MADE ME SNORT LAUGH. thank you, I needed that today :D
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RedKindaSus 2 years ago
The creator must feel so good about his evil invention. I hope he steps on a lego barefoot every morning.
Kelsey Cirmotich 2 years ago
I have recurring nightmares about this. Thank you for my nightmare fodder🤦♀️
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Paula Steiner 1 year ago
It's purely psychological. The splotches of water are crazy realistic, but I don't think it's physically possible for them to be that large because of the way water behaves
Sarah Berkner 2 years ago
You think that's bad, I grew up in a house with a toilet that is somewhere between tan and dull yellow (as is the counter and bathtub and bottom half of the walls). And the floor is a brown pattern. I say is because it's still that way, my dad's an engineer and he cares more about practicality than looks so he's not going to remodel it unless it's broken. It was like that when we moved in and I'll probably be able to remodel it one day, with my own money if I have to.
Erik Hedenskog 2 years ago
It's a self cleaning public toilet that they have in some situations with heavy drug use if you stay in too long the cleaning mode turns on
gerald baum 2 years ago
Would love to have two of these..... hysterical and a great piece for both bathrooms to see look on guests faces!
Ashley Stoddard 2 years ago
Overly excited back splash from flushing? Lol I used to work at a place that had a toilet that "spit" the water a bit too high after flushing. It was one of those 'eco-toilets' that's supposed to help save water. The mess however was a few droplets, not quite like this power flusher 😆
Janet Graham 2 years ago
No, don't camouflage anything in a restroom. I want to clearly see the dirt to avoid!
Frank Bushnell 2 years ago
Its obvious function is to hurry the user, who thinks, "When is the next automatic cleaning cycle going to happen ? I don't want to be sitting here !"
Dawn Danchik 2 years ago
It would be pretty in a lot of places. ...but not the toilet.
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Danielle benford 2 years ago
I appreciate the toilet bowl CLEANER... come on America.. Catch UP
Carol Roeder 2 years ago
I didn't realize there were so many warped people in the world. Worst part is, they are getting paid for it!
Pete Andrews 2 years ago
This is pretty smart, every customer is going to do the cleaners job for them and wipe the seat.
Iva Riddle 2 years ago
I'd just listened to a lecture by Lorraine Warren (a 'real' ghost hunter) at a local college and used the loo which was self flushing - and it self flushed with me sitting there, splashing my nether bits with ice cold water and I screamed. My daughter in law yelled wahts wrong and I said the toilet flushed with me on it then yelled, with a heavy accent 'I-YUTS- POSAAAAAYUSSED!' The other ladies burst into laughter. My DIL got me some paper towels so I could dry off a bit. And she muttered 'I cant take you anywhere!'
C. Moseley 2 years ago
Imagine being the one who cleans the restrooms. So, is it clean or not?
rustic raven 2 years ago
WOW that would be too much fun to watch and see the look on their faces when they saw this ;=]]
Palo Sulek 2 years ago
What particular problem you got with public toilets? Well I only have one issue...the water coming from the inside...once I spot a single drop on the seat I am paralysed. Oh, then you don't have to be worried here,they keep them clean...
Adam Beardsley 2 years ago
The question for me is not who chose this, but rather who had the idea to create it! THAT person needs a phyc eval
Mysten 2 years ago
That looks photoshopped to me. Water wouldn't stay in blobs like that on the vertical lid. Surface tension isn't *that* strong. Unless there's a factor I'm not considering, I call b******t.
Mary Peace 2 years ago
Did you think it was real, then? The article is about design fails.
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Vortex Lazer 2 years ago
Okay, I would like to sue the designer who created this, I would helplessly try to wipe the water off the seat.
Betsy Novack 2 years ago
Wow. Id hate depending on this guy for back up. No one would be left standing.
Teagan Allred 2 years ago
Then you don’t know if it has pee on the seat- psychopaths are laughing their heads off looking at this
Tonia Sizemore 2 years ago
WTF?????????? WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT THIS?!?!?!?! IT JUST KEEPS GETTING WORSE. AND EVERYONE STILL BELIEVES THAT PEOPLE, (HUMAN'S), ARE SUPERIOR & SMARTER THAN ALL OTHER ANIMALS!! & TRUST ME, WE DID NOT EVOLVE FROM APES, GORILLA'S, CHIMPS, ECT.... THEY ARE SMARTER WHERE & WHEN IT COUNTS & CARE MORE ABOUT OTHERS INSTEAD OF BEING SELFISH LIKE WE HUMANS ARE!!
However, public spaces can also be indoors. "These interiors can be both functional and aesthetic," Striukienė said.
"Think of health service establishments, for example. A well-executed professional interior design can even have a positive effect on the patients. It can relieve their stress and put them in a calmer state of mind."
In fact, Kjetil Trædal Thorsen, the co-founder of the architecture firm Snøhetta, argues that architects must begin considering indoor space just as public as outdoor space.
"Maybe with the sole exception of railway stations, public space is generally understood as outdoor space," Thorsen wrote. "Whether in the United States or in Europe, especially now with heightened concerns around security, there seems to be this determined way of privatizing everything that is indoors, even as we are increasingly aiming to improve access to public space outdoors. But in the layered systems of our cities of the future, we will need to focus on the public spaces that are found inside buildings—and make them accessible."
#5
At First Glance, I Didn’t Recognize This Restaurant Mural As The Sun
To get his point across, Thorsen highlighted a map of Rome made in 1748 by Giambattista Nolli. It only had two distinctions—what was private and what was public. "Whether it was indoor or outdoor, whether there was a church space or a plaza, it didn't really matter. [The map] told a different story of the city."
"There are some examples from today—the roof of our Oslo Opera House is outdoors, for instance, but it's on the building and publicly accessible. Opening up the Louvre and trying to let people walk through it 24 hours a day—as with the museum's recent takeover by the artist JR—is another way of not making a distinction between indoor and outdoor public space."
#6
This Fountain That Looks Like A Perfect Place To Sit Down
Panna Amelia Niezależna 2 years ago
I wonder how many people realised that when it was to late...
#7
Gas Station In Nebraska. The Station's Color Scheme Was Red. They Tried To Get Artsy
#8
No Broken Legs I Know Of
Thorsen thinks such decisions are essential to the way new architecture typologies develop, and architects should definitely have an influence on them.
"In certain situations, accessibility to indoor public space is enough," he said. "In other situations, you have to define the program for the particular indoor or outdoor spaces to be adequate. To use the example of the roof of the Opera House in Oslo again, it was basically programmed only for one thing, and that's to be walked on, for a promenade. But on occasion, it could be reprogrammed to hold an outdoor concert. Or it could be reprogrammed against the original intention by skaters or by a biker who actually drives his motorbike up and down the roof."
#9
Flat Carpet In A Hotel In Cologne, Germany Imitating A Curvy Surface
#10
Fake Hope Escalator
#11
The Design Of My School - This Is The Place Where Every Hallway Intersects
#12
Two Windows Of My Workplace Are Constantly Fighting For The Honor Of Being The One Who Is Going To Be Opened
The city belongs to its citizens. No matter if we're talking about what's inside or outside. And, according to Thorsen, these two dimensions can even intertwine.
"Maybe the outdoor can be programmed in such a way that it unlocks the possibility of the public spaces indoors. There's always a bit of urban planning in designing interiors. There's always a bit of interior design in an urban space. There's no question that interior architecture is professionalizing itself as well—interior architects are not seen as decorators of interior space anymore. The same is true of landscape architects. And those are only the traditional design professions," the architect said.
#13
The Single Worst Clock I Have Ever Seen. I Actually Said Aloud "Whyyy"
#14
They Built This School Like One Month Ago
#15
Ballroom Where Everyone Downstairs Can See Up Your Skirt
#16
This Is Not Rust. “It’s The Design”
Of course, that doesn't mean that every architect needs to be trained in every specialized profession. What Thorsen meant was that the industry is lacking an overall understanding of how people should collaborate.
"That's why we've introduced transposition as a working method in our office, where you not only sit around tables with a lot of specialists, but you actually swap professions during creative workshops," he said. "The only thing that can save the essence of architecture is some kind of collaborative model like this."
#17
I Love Eating At Restaurant Logo Here
#18
This Fancy Staircase Leads Directly Into A Wall
#19
This Chandelier At A Restaurant I Ate At Bothers Me So Much
#20
This Picture In McDonald's Was Hung Sideways
By adopting this model both in education and practice, Thorsen believes we would be better equipped to fully understand the effects of programming.
"We are usually generalists enough to understand that a change of use is sometimes demanded and that we shouldn't try to desperately hold on to certain kinds of programming. But the profession itself should, in my opinion, really contain that kind of knowledge, simply because it’s so tightly connected to the actual design task."
As these pictures show, we need to improve the relationship between buildings and the public. And Thorsen thinks there's no way we can do that without getting directly involved in programming ourselves.
#21
Designed For Dissuading The Homeless. Literally Just Uncomfortable For Everyone Else
#22
This Painting Inside A Local “Fancy” Restaurant
#23
$1 Toothbrushes Locked Behind Glass At Walmart. Walked Around The Store For 15 Minutes Looking For Someone “Qualified” To Unlock The Glass Case
Then had to be escorted to the register with said $1 toothbrush. I could walk out of here with an air fryer easier than a toothbrush
Wang Zhuang 2 years ago
That's really odd. I've never seen regular toothbrushes locked up behind glass. Maybe there are some town hooligans going around stealing toothbrushes...
#24
Some People Just Want To Watch The World Burn
#25
This Restaurant In London (Waiters Love It)
#26
Toilet Door With Another Door In It That Won't Stay Closed
#27
You Gotta Pay Attention On These Stairs In A Cinema
#28
My Bed At A Hotel I'm Staying In
Kassiopeia 2 years ago
So, you wake up, bonk your head at this, and then the flower pot falls on you
#29
Public Restrooms With Reflective Surfaces
#30
This Is Russia
#31
This Is The Logo For A "New York Style" Pizza Place In Ponce, Puerto Rico
#32
I Don't Know Why Brown Strings Is A Welcoming Wallpaper To This Toilet Entrance. It Just Feels Gross And Unwelcoming. I Mean, This Is A Public Place
#33
These Restroom Stalls Have Translucent Doors
#34
This New Wall Art In My Office
#35
Upon Walking In This Bathroom At The Supermarket I Was Initially Disgusted At Filth And Lack Of Cleanliness Until A Closer Look Revealed It Was Designed This Way
Demi Zwaan 2 years ago
And it is designed that way so you don't see the filth that is definitely still there.
#36
The Lobby Of This Medical Office Has An Alligator In The Floor
#37
Not Exactly The Color Pattern You Like To See In A Bathroom
Marcellus II 2 years ago
"Not the pattern you want to see in the bathroom"? OK, I'll bite: Where on earth would you want to see this pattern?
#38
Love To Shutterstock See This Kind Of Stuff
Gandalf the Pink 2 years ago (edited)
They didn't just print the stock photo without noticing, someone hand painted this with the stock photo as reference 💀💀💀
#39
The Paint In This Public Restroom
#40
Sometimes People Use The Left Part
#41
The Decorations On This Hotel Restaurant
#42
This Poster In My School Cafeteria Is So Badly Designed They Put Arrows So You Can Read It Correctly
#43
I'm Sure This Mirror Sounded Cool In Theory
#44
Not Sure If This Belongs Here But In My Opinion This Is The Real Problem With America. It's A Toilet Stall If You Were Wondering
#45
New Toilets At Work, Wonderful View On Our Interior Courtyard
#46
These Trash Cans At My School
Jonathan Douglas 2 years ago
Given their outdated school logo, I would say awareness of racism isn't their forté.
#47
A Poster At My Mom's Audiology Office
#48
I Had To Stop While Ordering Food At A Local Restaurant Because I Saw This Poster
Hot-chocolate-under-a-Sequoia. 2 years ago
50me mials lldo ionat ned. Ah yes. Just summoning a demon. Don't mind me.
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What do you think ?
Duncan 2 years ago
How do some things even get finished without someone somewhere saying that it is a bad idea. To all to all those companies with tiles that look like that have poo on them, were you drunk when you designed it and all the way through to conception?
Zanshin 2 years ago
Because someone is getting paid. They don't care that it is screwed up. They just finish the job so they can collect their pay check. They are not going to wait for some on to correct the problem, which could take weeks, months or longer.
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Daraqshan Urooj Naeem 2 years ago
This was so funny 😂😂😂😂I couldn't hold my laugh at all. I just keep questioning WHY?! JUST WHY?!
Bryan With A Why 2 years ago
None of these people went to design school, they're just horrible people.
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Denise LeBloch 2 years ago
So can you do one on excellent and functional design in the public space. For example, In Switzerland the airports have free luggage carts that are equipped to go up and down the escalators. Brilliant! We need more smart design and less "just gettin' by."
PiscesInTheWild 2 years ago (edited)
For those Brits (or just people in general who don't like the space between bathroom stall doors... such as myself), there was a stall like that at my school when I was a kid that had a crack directly aligned with the mirror. Anyone could look in the mirror at the right angle and see right where the toilet sat. Needless to say, barely anyone used this particular stall :)
Deborah Christie 2 years ago
I found the one with the hearing aid batteries hilarious. I love you can supposedly "hear" the Grand Canyon, Italy and Prague! Lmao?
Sebastian Melmoth 2 years ago
I will never understand the “fashion, never function” aesthetic.
zoolfa hussain 2 years ago
Yoh I looked at all these pictures n am shocked.peoples or designers have a s**t sense of humour .you really get some whacked stuff out there.thanks to the photographer for showing us these n making me laugh
fandomprincess (any pronouns) 2 years ago
Both my parents are engineers... Should I show them this or not?
Liesl English 2 years ago
I worked at a school where the teachers bathroom was also the supply closet. There were shelves and boxes of documents. And then they just put a toilet and a sink in there. Didn't seem sanitary *at all*
Lorrie Finley 2 years ago
Or the other way around most likely. And no it's very unsanitary especially with COVID 19. The virus (found in fecal material) that people cough in that room lives on inanimate objects for 48 hours so could easily be spread to the entire school population within hours.
Load More Replies...
Lorrie Finley 2 years ago
It's entirely possible considering the enormous size of the internet, it's continual growth and the length of time in existence. You may have seen some but it doesn't mean others have.
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Logan Chipman 1 year ago
Sirs I am only saying that because I genuinely want to teach them the difference. I mean I'm 20 and I can read and write better than 25-30 year Olds and up, when I correct someone I'm not trying to be a grammar nazi I'm trying to teach them the proper way to spell and pronounce something. And yes I do believe teenage slang has a part to play because people will sit there and say u, ur, etc. I am only saying it could influence them not knowing the difference between your, you're, you've. And even words like they're, their, they've, I have seen those used wrong so many times and by people alot older than me. Not trying to be rude or mean towards anybody her I am just genuinely wanting to teach some of them. P.S. not talking about people who currently have A's in english, I'm talking about the ones who are failing. (and I'm also not talking about the ones who have reading/writing disabilities they get free passes)and sure I may not be a dictionary but when I read outloud and wrote back in middle school my teacher set me as a prime example for people in 8th grade.
Logan Chipman 1 year ago
P.s.s, just trying to teach older generations proper etiquette.
Load More Replies...
Duncan 2 years ago
How do some things even get finished without someone somewhere saying that it is a bad idea. To all to all those companies with tiles that look like that have poo on them, were you drunk when you designed it and all the way through to conception?
Zanshin 2 years ago
Because someone is getting paid. They don't care that it is screwed up. They just finish the job so they can collect their pay check. They are not going to wait for some on to correct the problem, which could take weeks, months or longer.
Load More Replies... Daraqshan Urooj Naeem 2 years ago
This was so funny 😂😂😂😂I couldn't hold my laugh at all. I just keep questioning WHY?! JUST WHY?!
Bryan With A Why 2 years ago
None of these people went to design school, they're just horrible people.
Load More Replies... Denise LeBloch 2 years ago
So can you do one on excellent and functional design in the public space. For example, In Switzerland the airports have free luggage carts that are equipped to go up and down the escalators. Brilliant! We need more smart design and less "just gettin' by."
PiscesInTheWild 2 years ago (edited)
For those Brits (or just people in general who don't like the space between bathroom stall doors... such as myself), there was a stall like that at my school when I was a kid that had a crack directly aligned with the mirror. Anyone could look in the mirror at the right angle and see right where the toilet sat. Needless to say, barely anyone used this particular stall :)
Deborah Christie 2 years ago
I found the one with the hearing aid batteries hilarious. I love you can supposedly "hear" the Grand Canyon, Italy and Prague! Lmao?
Sebastian Melmoth 2 years ago
I will never understand the “fashion, never function” aesthetic.
zoolfa hussain 2 years ago
Yoh I looked at all these pictures n am shocked.peoples or designers have a s**t sense of humour .you really get some whacked stuff out there.thanks to the photographer for showing us these n making me laugh
fandomprincess (any pronouns) 2 years ago
Both my parents are engineers... Should I show them this or not?
Liesl English 2 years ago
I worked at a school where the teachers bathroom was also the supply closet. There were shelves and boxes of documents. And then they just put a toilet and a sink in there. Didn't seem sanitary *at all*
Lorrie Finley 2 years ago
Or the other way around most likely. And no it's very unsanitary especially with COVID 19. The virus (found in fecal material) that people cough in that room lives on inanimate objects for 48 hours so could easily be spread to the entire school population within hours.
Load More Replies... Lorrie Finley 2 years ago
It's entirely possible considering the enormous size of the internet, it's continual growth and the length of time in existence. You may have seen some but it doesn't mean others have.
Load More Replies... Logan Chipman 1 year ago
Sirs I am only saying that because I genuinely want to teach them the difference. I mean I'm 20 and I can read and write better than 25-30 year Olds and up, when I correct someone I'm not trying to be a grammar nazi I'm trying to teach them the proper way to spell and pronounce something. And yes I do believe teenage slang has a part to play because people will sit there and say u, ur, etc. I am only saying it could influence them not knowing the difference between your, you're, you've. And even words like they're, their, they've, I have seen those used wrong so many times and by people alot older than me. Not trying to be rude or mean towards anybody her I am just genuinely wanting to teach some of them. P.S. not talking about people who currently have A's in english, I'm talking about the ones who are failing. (and I'm also not talking about the ones who have reading/writing disabilities they get free passes)and sure I may not be a dictionary but when I read outloud and wrote back in middle school my teacher set me as a prime example for people in 8th grade.
Logan Chipman 1 year ago
P.s.s, just trying to teach older generations proper etiquette.
Load More Replies... 
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