30 Mistakes Made By Designers And Architects Who Didn’t Think Of The Person Who’d Be Using Their Designs
When it comes to designing things for city living, whether it’s the infrastructure or even little details—like park benches or public washrooms, you expect they will be made with people in mind. But it turns out that’s often far from the case.
Recently, Sahra Sulaiman, the communities editor for Streetsblog L.A., shared an illuminating thread about soap dispensers in LAX bathrooms. “The worker struggling to refill soaps in the LAX bathroom said she just wished architects and designers consulted with the workers that had to maintain the spaces about whether their form would actually be functional,” she wrote in a tweet amassing 126k likes.
Soon it became clear that Sahra is not the only one frustrated by how nonfunctionally public spaces are sometimes designed. More people joined the thread to share their own observations and experiences, so dear designers and architects, please take notes!



Image credits: sahrasulaiman
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Oh yeah the neverending ponytail and bun struggle is real... my SO always tells me I look like the Bendneck Lady when I drive lol
And seat belts thet don't crush my neck when they slip on my breasts! That's an actual hazard!
I dream of visors that actually block the sun for people less than six feet tall. And I keep a sunhat in my car because they don't exist.
Headrests that are even remotely the right height and comfortable. You shouldnt be driving in heels imo
That's not a real thing is it, a lipstick holder in cars? Like a little cutout next to the cup holders or shifter or something? I can't even find an example googling it.
Urban design is concerned with the arrangement, appearance and function of our suburbs, towns and cities. It is both a process and an outcome of creating localities in which people live, engage with each other, and engage with the physical place around them in the modern world.
According to the United Nations (U.N.), 68% of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2050, compared with 2% at the beginning of the 19th century, 30% in 1950 and 55% in 2018. The current urbanization is represented in hard-to-believe figures. The world’s largest city, Tokyo, which had a population of roughly 37 million in 2020, is expected to be overtaken in 2028 by New Delhi, the capital of India.
Also, in Japan, bathrooms have a sort of ledge where you can place your stuff while using the urinals. There are also hooks to hang your umbrella or bags.
And the doors go from the floor to the ceiling, with no gaps at the hinge and clasp. So luxurious!
Load More Replies...As an architect, I can assure you the problem is not on our end. We'd happily add all of these features! The problem is that the client does not have the budget.
In Toronto, at one of the big fancy malls, they have a family bathroom: Security buzz-in, automatic doors, nursing area couches and lots of space for strollers with a tv to entertain the older toddlers. Off this were the toilet rooms. Again, automatic large doors (for strollers to fit through), huge stalls with two toilets (mom size and kid size). Change tables, purse/bag hooks and counters. Extra diaper supplies. It was glorious.
There a lot of shopping places that have rooms like this in Korea too. No security buzz in but sliding doors with the button high enough that little ones can't reach. Some even have attendants if you need help for whatever reason!
Load More Replies...Give that architecture professor a raise! It is sooo difficult it is to go the the bathroom in public with kids!
Most malls in Aus and NZ have a ‘parents room’ that also includes an adult and child side by side bathroom. It’s so handy
We have those in the US called *family rooms." They have a toilet, sink & a changing table
Load More Replies...I went to a theme park that had a separate diaper changing station outside of the bathrooms, next to each bathroom.
Load More Replies...When Denny's decided to have their big image makeover they startes by trying out about 10 different restaurant versions in the hometown of Houston. I lived in Houston at the time and the Denny's I worked at was going to get the fancy/ high class remodel. Some of the big-wigs from corporate were in my restaurant, getting ready to leave when I showed up to work. I ended up in trouble with my boss (I guess us little people that actually keep their restaurants open arent worthy to talk to them?) But I politely told them the importance of needing diaper changing stations in both the female AND male bathrooms. Basically, I turned on the charm and then begged them. I reminded them that its not always well-off, nuclear families that eat there and what on earth would they do if they were a single dad and their 2 year old pooped while they were out for a meal. I was shocked when our restuarant re-opened after the makeover to find both restrooms with chsnging tables! Was worth getting in troubl
Because that would be using common sense! Apparently this too is a waning commodity!
They built a brand new parking area for tour buses at Stonehenge a few years back, with a turning circle too small for the buses to turn around without doing a three point turn. Specifically for buses, didn't think to measure a bus! 😂
When I worked for TfL, I encountered similar problems on a daily basis when 3rd parties designed London's bus stations. Turning circles too tight, buses passing too close for safety and the favourite, 3 buses parked a foot behind each other - try and get the middle one out! I now teach bus infrastructure design and the most valuable module features actual driving footage showing just how much room buses need to manoeuvre, and why.
Load More Replies...THIS,,,, as a truckdriver myself,,, i find this kind of things very important,,,, i once came at a store where they made a loadingarea indoors that was curved,,, very nice indeed, you drive in and drive out at the other site,,,, great thougt yes???? NNNOOOO, the first semitruck that went in wetched itself against both wallls,,, turns out the curve was too sharp for trucks,,, good god,,,, who was the architect there? i am sure he had NEVER looked closely to a semitruck, the FFing Idiot.
Maybe the architect was going with the old " if it don't fit, force it" design? Lol!
Load More Replies...I'm a building systems engineer who did study architecture and engineering as well. I'm well aware of this problematic and I'll just say: Architect oftentimes has no idea or is hugely limited by regulations, investor or the site.
Do they have a 300 (Junior) Level course for architects about regulations, how to find them, and how to design for them? Too early, and the students forget. Too late and their mindset can't be changed.
Load More Replies...just had a huge Warehouse built at my place if work, right next to the main entrance (which happens to be right on a roundabout and queues often end up bringing said roundabout to a standstill) first thing I asked was "where will the lorries park up and wait when all loading bays and weighbridge are in use or if there are delays?" - Planners didn't think of that did they. DOH
My favorite are British architects designing and building facilities in the USA. Built for British Left side driving and 30 foot rigs compared to right side driving and 45 foot rigs. One facility in Yypsy-yea, that muffler company, have to back off the state route for about a mile to get to recieving. Then have to drive through gardens, into employee parking lot in order to get rig backed into dock
45ft is Mickey Mouse - in Australia we have B-triple trucks that are 36.5m (120ft) and in regional/interstate roads road trains which are up to 53.5m (175ft long). Clearly the British (joke) standard is designed for London buses / fixed axle lorries.
Load More Replies...I drive a truck. How many people design these things for small box trucks when the company orders full sized semis is mind boggling. 53 foot boxes and 30 foot trucks are not the same as a small straight truck.
^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^ Truck drivers should not have to do crazy s**t just to back into the dang loading docks! Especially if there is more than one dock and another driver is already there.
The folks at H-E-B (incredibly awesome grocery chain here in Texas) definitely took that into account, but they appear to be the exception, not the rule. There's a separate entrance for delivery trucks, located far away from the customer parking lot. However, people don't always realize that it's NOT a shortcut behind the store, and we often see cars come backing out of there, followed by a semi truck that's trying to leave. So, the opposite problem, I guess.
Huh. All of the stores around here have the loading docks in the back of the store with a separate entrance to the lot, with ample space for the trucks to maneuver around to access the docks.
There shouldn't have been a fight because it shouldn't have been an "if". The discussion should have started from "where do we put the disposal?"
Sanitary disposal, every single stall, every single bathroom. And before anyone starts balking about men's bathrooms - DID I STUTTER? Every single one!!
Separate gender restrooms are dumb, anyway. How about fully enclosed stalls with actual, working latches and a shared sink area? Saves space and you don't have to feel like you're pooping in an open public space.
Load More Replies...The architect who designed the addition to the hospital made the sinks so high people in wheelchairs could not reach the taps. we mentioned to him before to sit in wheelchairs and navigate in them to see what it was like - guess he didn't!
How to win that argument: When you walk out of the bathroom, hand your sanitary napkin to a male coworker.
I'm a slightly larger woman (uk size 16), and I'm fed up on sitting on a sanitary bin because the sanitary bin is jammed up against the side of the toilet seat. Offset your woman's toilets in the cubicles so the bin will comfortably fit to the side
Absolutely. Such a simple remedy - yet never done. It bugs me too.
Load More Replies...Women's restrooms are the worst! I can't tell you the number of times I've bruised myself trying to get into the stall because the stupid door swings inward and there's no room inside.
How would that be a "womens' restroom" problem 🤔 Are you under the impression that the mens' room has different stalls...?
Load More Replies...Can you please put the top dispenser higher so you're not practically laying in the floor to pick apart the new roll?
They removed the mf'ing sanitary disposals from the stalls at work. Replaced them with signs to throw out anything in the big trashcan instead. Because everyone at work wants to walk around with a handful of blood in front of coworkers.
They are going to have clogged toilets because where are you supposed to put the trash while you are wiping yourself off? How ridiculous. Obviously that was a rule from someone who never had to change a pad in a public toilet.
Load More Replies...That's an easy one to win... leave the sanitary napkins on the counter of the men's room.. even the peal away strip from the pad will creep them out enough to want to change it
I raise it next time there's a meeting of all men under the big oak tree at midnight!
Load More Replies...How about those side spaces on stalls, where can see the person occupying the stall? Who the hell designed that feature must roast in hell now
But you don’t have to look at metropolises to realize how much and how fast our environment is changing. Pick just about any city, the one that you live in right now, and it will seem both familiar and new at the same time. So today designers and urban planners face incredible challenges—to make sure the public spaces, infrastructure, and resources cater to the people who live there.
Those are indeed the worst, and seem to be popular with "sleek" contemporary designs. A huge sink with the spout reaching 1" past the edge so you have to press your hands against the side of the basin to access the water.
and when you lean over to reach the soap, end up with the bottom of your shirt wet from all the spills/drops on the counter surface
Load More Replies...Not to mention us short people and kids getting our shirt wet trying to simple wash our hands.
Or not being able to reach the sink at all.
Load More Replies...OMG YES! the sinks at my university have faucets that extend 3/4 of and inch to the bowl. We also save energy and money by not being able to adjust the water temperature. You really need hot water to wash you hands, not cold!
I know the sinks that give out little spurts of COLD water are to save energy but DAMN are they HORRIBLE! Especially the ones where you dont set the sensor off just right and its cold and takes forever
Or the spaces between the faucet and the wall are too small to clean behind.
I freaking hate this design flaw. Especially in public restrooms where the faucet is one of those no-touch automatic ones.
My one experience with what I now take to be a purse hook was when they were installed on the face of the bar just where your knee would find them when sitting on the stool.
I will now be installing those at the bar in the restaurant where I work! Thank you for the reminder!!! Sincerely!!!
No. Purse hooks are FAR from necessary. If you really NEED one, then YOU should be keeping one of these in your bag. 5bea42f4d4...45126e.jpg
I feel like there should be temporary purse holders handed out on request because if they are there without a purse, then it's a good way to get injured. Even though I've never been to a bar, the tables at my school have backpack hooks that I constantly accidentally knee.
I also want to add that, as a carpenter, most people who commission things aren't shiny designers. Neither am I, though I learn something every day :)
I mean those aren't really purse hooks? Unless we're thinking of something different, those hooks are meant for everything: coats, bags, umbrellas, etc. They're much more common in 'old school' bars in the US and more common everywhere in the EU where people actually walk places.
I keep one in my purse or my kids' diaper bag. So if I sit somewhere, I can hang my purse or diaper bag under the table instead of setting it on the ground.
I've worked in several bars. Many of them with female management or female owners. None of them had purse hooks. Why should they install purse hooks when it is far more cost effective for you to hop on Amazon and buy yourself one. I'm a female and I don't like purse hooks, because I hardly ever carry a purse. This should absolutely be on the customer. If you want a purse hook, then stop acting like a victim and become the hero of your own story. Buy yourself a purse hook.
No, you don't. You assume they do because that's what you would do and you assume all women think alike, but that's just you, because evidently you're a sexist pig. The reality is, unless a purse hook is made out of some pretty sturdy material, it can bend, and create a stabbing hazard to anybody who sits down without looking. In addition, most of the time the underside of a bar is ornamental and not meant to be weight bearing. An overloaded purse hook can tear out of an MDF or veneer panel. Also, they're ugly. Maybe the designer just happened to be a woman with taste. And finally, purse hooks in bars literally started becoming popular less than 20 years ago. What horrifying pretension are you living under that you think any bar that hasn't retrofitted to accommodate your particular pet peeve is only doing it because they're sexist?
As a man, I just thought the lack thereof was short-sighted. If there's a real connection, that makes me sad.
Short-sighted because men aren't thinking about it. If women were in management, it would probably come up.
Load More Replies...commercial building, the outlets would be spec'd/placed by the electrical engineer. architects don't bother with such trival things.
Wrong, architects draw up the electrical plans to show where the lighting & outlets go.
Load More Replies...My husband worked in a building like that. Initially, they weren't allowed to personalize their desks because the architect thought it would clash with the specific color he'd chosen for the walls. This didn't last long until entire floors mutinied en masse.
My boss tried that with us when we did our renovation. We are a nonprofit - she is not an architect but was the client who actually picks the colors from suggestions from the architects. She also picked out and ordered hideous new desks and mismeasured so when they came they didnt fit the way she wanted. After that she freaked out and asked the architects to come back and move a wall 4 inches. They couldnt because it would make the next room too small per fire code for the use planned. She gave up on her perfect look at that point and we picked the most out there vivid colors to decorate our desks with - all clashing.
Load More Replies...I worked as a cleaner in an award winning office building, that had no wall outlets at all, they were all hidden in the floor under the desks, under little flaps. Hello? You didn't plan to ever vacuum?
Alvar Aalto will be worshipped like this in Finland till a building collapses or something. They're all great masterpieces even when the acoustics don't work, the outside marble panels fall off (and on some people) and when there's black mold growing everywhere.
Aalto was over a century ago, until a few decades ago almost no one in Europe really considered indoor air quality or ventilation, which are key to keeping mold at bay. The rest of the world is still catching up now to those issues. Of over l course you can find indigenous architecture that solved many issues we face today centuries ago or more.
Load More Replies...My daughter lives in an architect-designed house. 8 power outlets - great, but all on the one circuit: so microwave oven, kettle, toaster? pick any two.
I grew up in an architect-designed house, built in 1910. No power points, all the power was via cords hung from the solitary light pendant cable in each room. You want to use the light AND a radio or TV, you needed double adapters, you want to use a fan or heater at the same time as the TV, that's going to overload the single 10A circuit. No earth or safety circuits either, and the woven cloth shielding has a habit of overheating with load, then catch fire. One of our neighbours has his TV explode when their neighbours did some DIY wiring backwards.
Load More Replies...Vila Tugendhat in Brno is fine example of functional design with everything thought of by architect. Even staff area - kitchen, technical rooms are clearly designed to be easy to live in and work.
I wouldn't think an architect decides on where the outlets are. Especially in a service area like the kitchen
This is why building codes exist Edit: for example - outlets every 6 feet, where a countertop exists there must be 1 within 3 feet of each end, GFCI within 3 feet of a water source. 20amp service.
OMG! Designed to electrocute kitchen workers! Great idea. Who needs kitchen workers who are alive? When I see a sink in a kitchen my first thought is why didn't the architect make it easier for me to kill myself so I do not have to cook or wash dishes.
There are many ways to approach urban development that promote healthy living and longevity through a variety of design practices. Areas called “Blue Zones” are one of them. Dan Buettner, the author of the concept who wrote about for National Geographic, found that these communities had lower incidents of cancer and heart disease, fewer cases of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, a higher percentage of the population in their 90s and 100s, and were generally happier.
In general things are designed with the worst way for handicap people. Urban architects and engineers should live a month in a wheelchair or with a stroller before they do things. For example the metro at my parents city is """adapted""" for us, they put a beautiful sticker and cheered of how amazing they are. The metros are taller than the platforms and it leaves a small step. Small enough that a walking person wont notice but bit enough that my disabilities scotter cannot get there...
In Ohio the person who got the ada laws passed was paralyzed from the neck down by polio. He was an attorney & got all of that passed. He memorized all of the law books from college & was extremely intelligent. I know this because he was my great uncle!
Load More Replies...I once went to a restroom where the handicap stall was actually large enough to comfortably move around in in my chair. The tp wasn't 5 feet away. The handle bars were all in the right place. It was so well designed I started crying. I wrote the headquarters and thanked them for designing it with actual wheelchair users in mind. Unfortunately they went bankrupt about 2 years after opening and closed and the building has sat empty for 5 years now. Another public restroom I used actually advertised handicapped accessible stalls on highway signs, which were the very same stalls as the regular ones. Walking people were having a hard time with the inward opening doors and straddling the toilet to fit to close the door. I offered management my chair to let them try to use the restroom. They red faced said they knew it wasn't accessible but used the signs to bring in more business. It's an internationally known company, which is what makes it all the more disgraceful.
They should be reported to the Department of Justice for an ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) violation. Sometimes they will fall in line if you write a letter to their management. But I know that's a lot of work for a person with a disability or a family member of a person with a disability. The ADA has been around for 30 years, but people still claim ignorance. Best wishes!
Load More Replies...I’m not disabled nor do I regularly use the disabled toilets but when I do I’m often disgusted by how unuser friendly they are. I mean, if I can’t access the toilet paper with my completely functional hands how the hell is a disabled person going to get it?
Wheelchair user here. My pet peeve is so-called handicapped restrooms that aren't big enough to turn your chair around in.
You actually even got down the aisle to get into the stall? I've been in a few restrooms where they had all inward opening doors and the little aisle to get to the last stall was so narrow I couldn't get down. I'm in a standard 18"wide seat (plus wheels) and even moms with narrow strollers couldn't get down. This was at a public zoo. The first set of bathrooms at the entrance to the zoo were at the bottom of 3 steps (no ramp). This is a major US city and a huge zoo, not some backyard tiger king type place. Only one restroom in the entire place was actually accessible and it was at the very back in the restaurant.
Load More Replies...The podiatry department was moved when my local hospital was redesigned. You now need to walk all the way to the back of the building, where the lifts are, go up to the first floor, then all the way back to the front of the building to the department. It is literally the furthest point they could get from the entrance doors for walking purposes (it's right above them so actually really close if you're spiderman lol). A department entirely for people with problems with their feet moved so that their patients need to walk a long distance, how could that possibly be a problem?. Yes the staff did point this out when the revamp was proposed. No no one listened to them.
My hospital had this for the rhematology department. 2nd flooe in the back. I cried and had to ask for a wheel chair assist because i couldnt walk that far. They have since moved it to first floor, right next to the door where the bus lets you off.
Load More Replies...I once saw a bin that you had to open with your foot in a handicapped bathroom.
Where I live in Australia we had a major public space built in the early 2000s. The toilets had flush buttons which were, no pun intended, flush with the wall. They were very difficult to see, and if you ran your fingers over the wall you couldn't feel them. This is a set of buildings which is meant to comply with legislation which makes public areas accessable for people with disabilities. Of course many people, me included, pointed out that people with vision impairment would not be able to flush the toilets, bit nothing was done about it until a couple of years ago. Absolutely disgraceful. Also, the vast exterior area is uneven brickwork which is very difficult for people with mobility issues. I was told it was to discourage skateboarding, but it is seriously disadvantageous for people with mobility devices.
I have never figured out why the paper dispensers in disability stalls are always mounted below the handrail rather than several inches above it, making the person using the stall have to reach down almost to the floor to reach the paper. I'm just old and need a handrail to help me get around better but that is ridiculous to set them up that way.
I fully agree. Getting a usable amount of paper out is very hard.
Load More Replies...Can businesses please put the mfing toilet paper dispenser up higher? It's much more ergonomic to reach up for tp than to have to fold yourself in half to reach it and then have to contort to get your hand inside to mess around to find the end and then only get 3 squares at a time. Like... come on.
Yes!!! Make the disabled go the farthest in every bathroom in the US makes sense to whom? I use a wheelchair and it is so incredibly difficult to get all the way down the aisle, then get the correct angle to get in the stall, then so many are so small it is hard to transfer between chair to toilet, its ridiculous! It's just awful and i have a motorized chair so everything should be easier for me. It's really not.
It seems like a logical design choice to devote the walkway space to the wheelchair-accessible stall. Otherwise they have to use the space from two stalls and turn the toilet 90 degrees. Your objections to bad design are valid.
Load More Replies...That's absolutely not true. I don't even begin to know why you would think this.
Load More Replies...I know what you’re talking about. Aesthetics are wonderful to talk about, but are only truly wonderful if they also function in people’s day to day lives. Light, air, and shapes can be made functional if the architect is truly gifted. We see how the snobby faux artsy-fartsy crowd have ruined the fashion industry. Who TF would want to wear a fraction of the s**t that comes down the runways anymore, except rich eccentrics and people with nothing better to do with their time than try to look trendy in some of the “art piece” rags some designers come out with.
And I think this used to be better. For example: In my city in Germany, there's a school building from the 1950s with amazing details like a sort of drain beneath the hooks for the jackets so the floor won't get wet. We still have rain here, but modern architaecture doesn't seem to care for this kind of mondane detail.
So true...a fellow student once whispered to me: how the hell do I know how this room feels? Hungry? The next semester he was in the construction management program.
After being a contractor for 9 years A friend of mine decided that he wanted to become an architect. He was the "old man" of the class. At the after graduation party one of his classmates asked him "I know the hot water is always supposed to go on the left, but how does it get there?" It should be a requirement for students to be a contractor in the field for at least 3 years before they can graduate architecture school and put AIA next to their name.
You should learn more about how to become a professional architect. You don't just get AIA after your name when you graduate. Someone who wanted to be a licensed architect needs not only a degree, but also years of internship and to pass several exams.
Load More Replies...Everyone needs to go to the University of New Mexico for architecture. The new building is amazing and very functional. Two mandatory classes on function vs. Style!! UNM EVERYONE! Nope, not a. Architect. Just someone who absolutely loved taking classes in that building!! Considered architecture after taking classes in the building!!
Standard sized doors in UK are not wide enough for strollers, wheelchairs, prams and people carrying shopping. Door sills have way too may different sticking out bits (on one sill). Anyone designing an outside door with a step better make it wide and the same level as inside for the first step out, no weird level change stepping over the sill. Why are there no step ladders with low height steps for those who can't lift thei feet up high?
BP taught me that those gaps in the stalls i an American thing. Sooo happy we dont have those
It's a very American thing and I haven't yet heard a believable story as to why they are there.
Load More Replies...It's a meme - a very apt one. :) py9vqx759w...db49e5.jpg
The reason for the gap, the space between door and floor, and the overall feeling of insecurity is to hurry people up. Seriously. They were literally designed and specified that way so as to not allow comfort. Because they want you in, done, and gone. Free up the stall for the next person.
yeah sometimes we only get one hook. then you have to balance everything you know and love on one tiny, wobbly hook
Load More Replies...Went to Belgium on business some years back and it blew my mind that the bathroom stalls were just...small rooms...with real doors. Novel idea, that.
The restroom at the Library in Pacific Grove, CA, is open to the back corridor with a line of small rooms, each with a toilet and plenty of room, totally enclosed.
Load More Replies...Seems to be an American thing! We don't have them in Europe, not even in schools - everyone has the right to privacy
My middle and high school didn't have doors on the stalls they said it helped "prevent delinquent behavior". I just wanted to change a tampon without having to give a smile grimace to every girl who walked past my stall on the way to change her tampon in front of everyone. Yay Texas!
Load More Replies...Same reason the idiots designed it decades ago to open inward instead of outward. They know it's a better option, they do it for every handicapped stall. Not to mention placement of toilet paper rolls next to the toilet. I'll stop there before I even get started...
Actually opening inward is not only a size constraint, easier to opennin the stall so you don't block the flow of traffic in most american public restrooms. It is also a safety feature, its easier to say get in a stall and stop an attacker if you can just put feet up and hold the door closed than if you have to pull it closed thus mitigating a crime of opportunity, cause if the bad guy has a crow bar he can pry the door to open outward same as the fire department would do for a person unresposive in a stall.
Load More Replies...It is so weird why would you want someone to see you peeing and goodness pooing yikes
If you wouldn't look thru the crack at someone else, why do you think they are going to stare at you? I don't want to see you do your business, but now I know you are there thru peripheral vision.
Load More Replies...On the particularly large cracks I'll break off a piece of long tp and push it through the crack at the top and bottom, so that the tp runs the length of the crack and no one can see through.
According to Joe Pobiner, Planning and Urban Design expert and advisor, urban design that follows the concept of Blue Zones includes: walkable environments to reduce the need for cars; increased vertical density and mixed-use diversity to encourage walking; a mix of housing options to encourage a multi-generational population; a mix of development types beyond residential and office spaces; local gathering places, parks, and plazas; locally owned farm-to-table restaurants; community gardens and rooftop gardens, and so on.
Wasteful and disgusting. Flushing sends up particles into the air and can spread across the bathroom so you breathe in the aerosolized waste or the potentially harmful bacteria/viruses from stool, urine, vomit...
To hell with the particles getting up in the air, if it flushes while I'm on it in worrying about what just got blasted all over my private parts. I don't know when they were cleaned last or how thoroughly.
Load More Replies...Dude, I hate when they flush when I am in the middle of my piddle. Just saying, shocks me every time. Then when I do stand up and I want it to flush, I got to do an elaborate dance to get it to flush again. They are so useless. Put a peddle on the ground so you can flush it with your foot.
I HATE THIS The trick is to put a length of toilet paper over the sensor if possible, then remove when done
My 3 year old was terrified of the auto flush. I started carrying sticky notes to put over the sensor.
Load More Replies...I always wonder/grumble at these automatic toilets - they flush when I walk up to them, then if I shift my rear, then again when I'm getting up. Just what are they supposed to be saving? Not water, not power.....?
That dude never took a s**t on one of those before? Im sure he would remember the dreaded ball splash
Just so you women know, the men's toilet does the same thing. We don't s**t in the urinal.
Of course he didn't. Men have a tendency to not think outside of themselves. It doesn't even occur to them that someone else's experience could differ from their own, that's why they refuse to believe us when we speak up about said experiences. "Well I don't have that problem, therefore the problem doesn't exist".
Bring a roll of blue painters tape and put a piece over the sensor while you clean then move it to the next toilet when you finish that one. It will keep it from flushing
The ingenuity of the people who have to deal with the stupidity of the architects far outweighs the "genius" of the architects.
Load More Replies...The cleaning guy ar work uses a paper towel tube with a slit cut in it. He slides it over the sensor so he can do his cleaning without it auto flushing.
I have the same problem with the autoflow sinks where the faucet is very close to the back of the sink. Try to clean it and the sink turns on and douses my cleaning cloth, arm and hand while it rinses away the sanitizing solution. Also the autodispenser for the soap shoots out soap while I clean the shelf behind the sink. sigh
What would be MUCH better than auto-flushers are floor-mounted foot-operated flushers.
In the 60s, living in Argentina, the sinks in train cars had a pedal underneath that activated the water faucet. Kids had to work in a team to use it, one pressing, another washing their hands.
Load More Replies...Right, and forget using the paper seat cover; it gets flushed right as you're about to sit down.
For most of them you can just tear off some toilet tissue and put it over the sensor until you are done...
I used to just cover the sensor with a piece of tissue paper that stops it from flushing
Yeah, we got a new delivery ramp years back, so we do not need to use the public entrance anymore. Turns out we use the public entrance since them anyways, because the ramp is highly unsafe and horrible to work with. The architect is still mad at us, he think, it was a great idea.
Delivery ramps are, by code laws in the U.S., are supposed to be at a specific angle for safety. That architect obviously was not trained in codes, or chose to ignore them. He should be reported for that.
Load More Replies...A close friend is a professional plumbing engineer who specializes in medical buildings. While most of their work is unseen (surgical suite gas systems, general water/waste pipes), the work also involves exam rooms. For a recent medical building remodel, they specifically asked to speak with nurses to learn how they function within the space and adjusted their product list accordingly (e.g., sinks with faucet to the side) or placement of fixtures (e.g., wall outlet panel for oxygen in relation to exam table). Amazing!!
Absolutely this - ASK THE USERS! Years ago, the company I was working at was getting ready to upgrade the computer system & in a prep meeting, I suggested the IT team should sit with the actual users to see what we needed for dealing with the clients. I was shocked when the people in charge set up a week where they came & sat with each of us for an hour, and then actually used our recommendations. This works with home & work environmental design too.
Worked in a school library that was renovated. Upfront, they told me that librarian input would not be considered. The circulation desk was located in the back of the room, leaving the main entrance to the library uncontrolled. There were 30 drops for computers, but only one computer. No budget or signage for labelling the different subject areas. The instructional area was cramped because of all the pillars blocking the line of sight. I could go on. Looked great, but was a challenge to work in.
My boss at my last job redesigned the whole office and in order to get a closet she got rid of our emergency fire exit stairs.
WOW, that's against the law. Hope someone reported it!
Load More Replies...I have worked in biology departments at several universities. No one ever asks end users what they need in a space. Never enough room for equipment (freezers, incubators, centrifuges) no knee space to sit at the bench, drains in weird places. I can never use top shelves or part of cabinets without constantly using a step stool.
YES to all. I retired after 30+ years from a medium security prison…3 prisons set right with one another…as each was built, not once did they ask a Correctional Officer what improvements should be made and those designing them never wore the uniform or turned a key!! Shameful really.
Yeah, my workplace spend fortune on "improving" that just make worker's life harder
Having convenient Power outlets so that you don't have to get down on your hands and knees and crawl under the desk right to the back, to plug something in
I only ever do this once when I set up at my desk I use his handy thing called a power strip that I'll run up to on top of my desk so I don't have to crawl under anymore
Load More Replies...So many offices going to open floor plans. At my last job, we moved to a new building and they decided on an open work space plan, and EVERYONE was like, "No, we're going to hate that." They did it anyway. We all hated it. It was also horribly distracting. You could hear everyone talking all the time, which made it hard to focus. And I worked in the legal department, where overhearing a conversation can be a pretty bad thing. It made zero sense to me.
Pobiner argues that today, walkability and access to green spaces are top selling points. “Buyers want neighborhoods that offer new architecture, land uses, and technology—areas that create 'intelligent' density conducive to walking and biking, and that are less costly and more sustainable,” he explains.
my bf who is a chef also hates sinks that are to small for a very large pot and/or too far away from the stove so that you have to carry the big, full and therefor heavy pot to the stove. it's something he hates in his professional kitchen and in our ymall privat one LOL
That's when you need one of those "pot filler" taps above the stove! I think those are the best idea since ever.
Load More Replies...Arrgh, open storage shelves so we can "see the pretty dishes". Yeah so dust and crap can collect on the things I cook with, or even better, so light and heat can shorten the storage life of all the food I'm storing.
I just don't get why people think the open shelves are desirable! If I want to see the "pretty dishes", I'd put glass doors on the cabinets!
Load More Replies...I would like to reserve a special place in hell for the designers that put low backs on tall drawers in the kitchen, so things are constantly falling off the back.
I think the purpouse is so they are easy to install but yea screw tht
Load More Replies...My pet peeve is when designers ruin islands by placing stoves or sinks in the middle. That could be fine with a massive island, but the common 2m long island is wasted this way. You had a nice, big bench space and now it's ruined. Also, pantry cabinets that are just deep boxes. You just lose stuff in there. If you only have space for a counter-depth pantry, you need to get clever with pullouts and door storage. Otherwise, stuff is going to languish at the back and you're going to struggle to find things. Also, lower cabinets should just have pullouts. In some cases, a big drawer would be way better, like for cookware storage.
We had a pantry cabinet in our old house that was a dream - it had slide out trays that were wonderful for finding stuff in the back! I wish I could have moved it to our new house!
Load More Replies...I detest the built-in cabinet where our refrigerator goes - it limits the size of the refrigerator we can have, plus the cabinets on top are useless for anyone under 6' tall.
This. Even with a stepstool, it's a long reach over the depth of the fridge.
Load More Replies...My pet peeve with kitchens are the upper cabinets. Why are they always designed that you have to be over 1,80 to reach the top shelf? I'm 1,65 and I need a step in my kitchen to rech items in the back of the second shelf. I watched a lot of house tours on YT over last few months and when I see 3m high ceilings with uppers up to the ceiling and 5 shelves, I always ask myself where they store the library ladder to reach anything in those.
Thats when you only put seasonal items there that only need to be taken out once a year and then returned so you can bring in and out the big step ladder only when prepping for the holiday.
Load More Replies...Also, why aren’t decent-sized garbage can storage/space and a dedicated space for dish towels/paper towels not standard inclusions?
Actually if you look in older homes alot of them gave paper towel holders near the sink or in the kitchen somewhere attached under a cabinet or on the wall
Load More Replies...“Food should never be washed in the same sink as dishes.” Gtfo actually you might be a moron.
In a lot of places this is a code regulation for any commercial use. The church I attend has had to turn down several people who wanted to rent the kitchen for their small businesses because we can't afford to bring it up to code, and one of the major issues is that there's only a dishwashing sink and a handwashing sink - we'd have to install a third for food prep to meet requirements.
Load More Replies...Trendy Wood counter tops around sinks. There is a reason stainless steel has been standard for years. Open shelves are unsanitary if one lives where there are fruit flies and dust....
You can't hang it on the hook at the top of the door if it has one - it can be reached by a determined thief. And who wants to put it on the floor
I feel this is a particularly American issue. The rest of the world has stall doors that either reach the ground, or only have a gap of a couple of inches.
Load More Replies...They used to be common - spring-loaded stainless shelves that folded down, kept flat by the weight of the purse. Then they'd pop back up out of the way. I liked them a lot, and I'm peeved they all seem to have vanished.
And they blocked the door from opening on you if the latch came open!
Load More Replies...ik its not very related, but this reminded me of this: it would be great if public/school restrooms had a little table you could flip up on the bathroom stall wall so that if you need to change into anything, there is somewhere to put your clothes on other than the floor if you didnt bring a bag with you. just saying
go right ahead... .the studnets would break it within 30 minutes....
Load More Replies...Best public women's restroom stall design I've encountered was at the airport in St. Louis, where I used to live. It was great for 2 reasons: Purse hooks were on the side of the stall by the toilet (not only safer from thieves, but easy to grab a tampon if you need one), and the stall doors opened outward so you could easily maneuver your suitcase out. Worst: The Wynn in Las Vegas. Stall doors went all the way up to the 8' or 10' ceiling. Purse hooks were 6" from the top of the door.
We need multiple hooks for purse, backpack, diaper bags, shopping bags, etc. No cracks and make the walls go to the ground to keep curious toddlers from wandering,lol
Agreed! It really is a struggle using only one arm going to the toilet. The other hand is constantly holding on to the purse cuz god forbid if it touches those nasty floors!
it would be great if public/school restrooms had little tables/flat surfaces you can pull up on the wall. This is because if you ever need to change clothing, i always feel like there is nothing to put my clothes on other than the floor. ik this wasnt very related, but this reminded me of that
I had to get a glob of soap on my hands and let a little girl swipe it off because the soap dispensers were impossible for her to reach. This was at a ski resort, with ski schools and everything. Main lodge at the bottom of the mountain
yea. I couldn't reach the soap things at MALLS till I was like 9/10
Load More Replies...I am 4'9 Living in Sweden... How I WISH, the stores would realize I am too short for three of the shelves, not to mention the deep freezers. I cannot even hope to get my favorite frozen chicken unless someone happens to be there and is kind enough to grab it.
Had a short peorson ask me to reach something, watch how I stuck my fingers through the slatted shelf of the frozen section to be able to reach the back of the shelf, and realised she could do the same. One more shelf for her reaching ability. I have used other things on the surrounding shelves to pull what I need to the front (spagghetti, bottles, tin foil rolls etc). Having worsening mobility issues over the years means no bending or stretching, no fear of asking anyone to assist me either.
Load More Replies...I like seeing more places have a pull-down step at one sink for short people to be able to reach, seeing it gradually phase in
Yeah, I see that from the other end, most of the world is made for people around 5foot I'm 6"4 I tear up my back having to stoop, bend and craw for everything most bathroom I go to when I look at the mirror I'm looking at my chest
I am 5' 1" and the world was NOT made for me. the margin of people who are actually catered to here appears to be slim
Load More Replies...I had major ankle surgery, wheelchair-bound for about six months, and forbidden from putting any weight on my leg. I went to the restroom of a popular national chain store and the only handrail in the handicap stall was at the rear of the commode, making it almost unusable. I somehow managed to transfer myself onto and off the commode with great difficulty, but then I had to exit the bathroom. The door opened inward and, with my leg locked in a raised position, I couldn't even get close enough to the door to open it. I had to sit in the middle of the bathroom until someone came along and opened the door. I learned a lot about handicap-friendly facilities during that time, and how woefully behind we are on implementing them.
YES! I'm a short person who can barely reach the top freezer shelves in the grocery store, and only then if the product is pulled all the way to the front. I can only imagine how much harder it is for people in wheelchairs/scooters.
1.OOF and2. they make dog water fountains at parks but dont consider if a parent might have a weak or aching back, like dude, WTH!?!?
I hate it when I go to a hotel and the shower head is at the level of my chin. I'm not excessively tall either. Who thinks people shouldn't be able to wash their hair standing up straight instead of squatting?
Yeah, place where I used to work had floor to ceiling glass walls on conference rooms. Then they had to add curtains because you know, sometimes you might be sharing something you can't announce to the whole company. Also it is a distraction when you are in a meeting in a glass cube and you see people outside the cube passing by.
But then whenever you close the curtain everyone thinks you are making Nefarious Plans :D
Load More Replies...Lighting is important when discussing trauma (personally anyway, I can't open up to anyone if the lighting is dark, it makes me super depressed and anxious) but they could have just put a skylight window.
Architect: "Who cares about safety or privacy? My artistic vision is the only thing we need to think about here."
Surely you're not serious. At a women's refuge? Where abusive husbands can see through the walls to see if their wives (looking for refuge) are in there? Are these architects for real?
I dont think women experiencing any number of crisis want to be stuck in a fishbowl for all to see. I know I wouldnt!
My complaint is cleaning supplies. Build me a kitchen with a small cabinet for my mop, broom, shelf for my cleaners and a plug in for my rechargeable vacuum. I have to go to utilitiy area in garage to get a broom and dustpan.
As someone with PTSD that would have driven me crazy. Not comfortable at all.
And how about designing parking lots in northern climates that snow plows can actually maneuver around
How about making the aisles wider so you can actually back out from a straight in space WITHOUT hitting another car or having to do multiple well turns to jockey out? Not to mention line of sight on the straight in spaces, go back to angled ones please.
Load More Replies...Or houses & buildings that an ambulance can’t get a stretcher into because of dog leg corridors or bedrooms that are too small. Also the buildings whose lifts are too small for stretchers. Especially in Nursing Homes & retirement communities 🤦♀️
Designers don’t think about the location of the gas meter, electrical hookups, air conditioners, heat pumps. Even dryer vents and plumbing vent stacks. Not to mention downspouts!! So many houses with such unnecessarily complex roof lines forcing the gutter installer to route the downspouts at odd angles right down the front of the house, crossing over different finishes so there’s no way to blend it in. I have seen so many brand new houses that have ugly pipes, vents and hardware right in front of the house ruining the minimalist aesthetics of the drawing paid for. This is a failure of imagination to not consider all the aspects of construction. It doesn’t take much to make a very expensive custom home investment look an ill-conceived and tacky. And don’t get me started on the fake “stone” pillars and 3’ wide front porches.
The development I live on was designed with bin stores for each property and outdoor bin positions for the apartments. Then along came the council with their new recycling policy and each property finished up with 4 bins, and the apartments with communal "dumpsters". It is a regular battle to keep the place tidy and make sure bins are put away properly and are not overflowing.
Or build a brand new justice building with a portal too small to let the cars bringing the prisoners go through. No joke, it happened.
My apartment building has a unit with a huge dumpster literally two feet below their bedroom window. Not only does it stink in the summer, but it gets picked up and shaken out into a garbage truck at 1am every Wednesday. My landlady told me no one has lived there for more than 6 months in the last 35 years.
And it hasn't occurred to her to design anything to be a barrier between the windows and the garbage staging area??
Load More Replies...A Brand High School (1991) Had A Chemistry Lab With An Emergency Shower But NO Floor Drain--Contaminated Water Everywhere
My High-School built a new Chemistry classroom - no desks, but work-tables with a sink in the middle, and a row of fume-hoods along one wall, for drawing away chemical dangers. Good plan, but somebody installed the fans to blow down instead of sucking up..... a bad first day!
Load More Replies...We’ll be getting a new school shortly. We’ve all been consulted and completely ignored. I’ve not met a member of staff yet that isn’t fuming at the plans.
That's infuriating. It happens SO.MANY.TIMES. Even with public works. They have a public "discussion meeting," listen to what the public have to say, and then go ahead and do whatever it was they had planned anyway. It's all just lip service. It honestly makes my blood boil!
Load More Replies...It kind of bugs me when people complain about electricians because my husband is an electrician, but he is a really friendly and considerate one. He usually asks where people want outlets, explains to people they will probably want more outlets down the road, and let's them know the cost up front (as much as he can) so they can make a decision. He also spent the last weekend texting/talking on the phone (for free) with a client, who wanted to do some of the prep work himself to lower costs, to make sure he did the work right and it wouldn't have to be redone.
Electricians aren't the ones who decide where outlets go. They just install em where the drawing says.
Many years ago my husband and I built a gorgeous brand new home. We had the absolute best builder. Before he did anything he had me come over and show him where I wanted things and how he could make things so that it was functional. He even noticed we were above average height and asked if we thought we would prefer raised cabinets and a taller shower and longer than normal tub. He mocked it up and we were shocked at the difference. He also threw in a few things even we didn't know we wanted them. One of my favorites was the electrical outlets in the floor with decorative covers so they can be concealed when not in use. Every builder should be so good at their jobs.
I find this inspirational.. I had a general contractor come to do an estimate, on a triplex, half demo done- rehab, before I decide if I want to make an offer on the property. The dude was totally unprofessional didn't write anything down for me, just made some comments as if I didn't have a clue... Little did he know I have a demo company and I've done multiple on my own, and I come fully equipped with tools and knowledge... He quoted me some crazy numbers with no justification, I was just very much a naysayer. Because apparently women can't have nice nails and know construction??! I was so turned off by yet another man in the industry, I'm even more determined to get my general contractors license and be the kind of builder that you had and treat people the way you were treated!
Load More Replies...I once had to fit out a computing lab in a new school - had only 4x power outlets. We had 34x computers, 6x printers, 2x scanners, several routers + various servers etc. We actually needed 50+ power points. Cost a fortune to install new circuits through inadequate ducts, etc.
Some of those were built with the intention of children riding the bus and not everybody feeling like they needed to drive their kid to school.... But now we've got bus driver shortages it's like a double-edged sword.
Load More Replies...THIS!! A school I worked in a couple of years ago had keyboard lessons for my class every week. Every keyboard needed a mains plug. Myself, the teacher and the other TA had to use 4 6-way strips to get all the keyboards plugged in, it was an absolute health and safety nightmare, especially in a very cramped classroom. In the class I work in now, we haven't anywhere near enough outlets to plug in laptops when the kids need to use them (all of them need to be plugged in as they are old and the batteries no longer hold enough charge), resulting again in triphazards everywhere.
My school has outlets right under the sinks, and water sprays everywhere out of those sinks.
oh god. my old primary school was made for 400 students when we needed space for 1000. also it's mostly made of glass. in AUSTRALIA. with NO AIRCON. saying the "breeze from the still river next to us was enough". b***h. aussie summers are brutal
At my McDonald's the stall is so short they had to cut a hole in the door so it could swing past the toilet when it opened. You had to stand beside the toilet to get in or out.
Wouldn’t people be able to see inside and/or reach in it to unlock it?
Load More Replies...I’m a smallish person at 5’2” and 130 pounds and I’ve had to straddle toilets to get in far enough to close the door and to open it, too. I always get angry about it and not just on my own behalf!
I'm about the same size as you, Felicia, living in the UK and have had same problem. Friends say I'm slim so I don't know how bigger people manage.
Load More Replies...Handicap stall doors that open inward. I push the door open, enter in my wheelchair, and there is no room to swing the door closed. I would have to leave my wheelchair outside the stall, but there are no bars for me to hold onto to help me go inside.
So you don't accidentally hit someone with the door upon exit. They do need to increase the space inside to allow for a reasonable place to stand while you open/close the door.
We have quite a few (but not most) that open outwards in Australia, but they can't hit people because there is more space between where they reach and the wall/ person needs standing at sink.
Load More Replies...The people who designed our new hospital hate nurses/etc. Who's idea was it to put the sharps container back in the corner, next to the sink and behind the computer? Or have the computer able to hit the code blue button if swung the right way (did that one myself). Or put the sink that staff are meant to wash their hands at DIRECTLY next to the bed- sure, they're on isolation and I need to wear a gown, but let me take the gown off and turn to wash my hands in arms-reach of the patient. And WTF decided carpeting a HOSPITAL was a good idea? I could go on and on
I never thought that a sharps container was part of a buildings design, as it is just a container, but all staff should agree on its location for sure
Load More Replies...I've been in a toilet stall where the toilet was not centered in the stall, but right up along the wall. My choice was to either use the toilet with my leg pressed firmly against the wall, or try to pivot and then have my ass touch the wall. 🥴
Yes, this is the case at every hospital I've been in in the chicagoland area! The nursing staff came in to turn off the light over the head of my bed and the doctors didn't even know how. So stupid.
In the old days the call buttons had two buttons in the same cord patient pushes black protruding button inside the the call button was a white circular one around the patients button you just pushed the white one and it went out!
At the older facilities (built in the 70s but I worked in them in the 2000s) I worked in we had a call board at the nurses station which had light bulbs that lit up telling you which room, and then you could switch it off from the board. I've heard (in general) they stopped that so nurses don't ignore them but I don't believe it, if you ignored it the patient would just keep calling, any nurse knows that. I used to leave it lit, go check, and then switch it off when I got back so my staff would have known where I was if I wasn't at the desk. The newer builds I work at you just press the same button the patient uses, which is worse because then if they are impatient and press it twice it turns it off. Then later they'll press again and get pissed you never came before, not realizing you just didn't see it bc they cancelled it 😂
Load More Replies...They installed huge cigarette dispensers at the checkouts of my local supermarket, making the space between the checkouts so narrow that it's impossible to unpack the shopping cart, especially when you have a belly. I never go there anymore when I know my cart will be full. The cashiers told them it would be a mistake and now they've promised to fix it for months and nothing happened.
Wow, that's bad planning. In Australia we aren't allowed to have cigarettes in the open like that. They are all behind the service desk so kids can't get to them and you have to wait for a specific staff member to come to help you as not everyone is allowed to sell them either.
Load More Replies...Ugh. I also work at a hospital and out call lights are also right BEHIND all the patient beds on the opposite side of the room from the walkway. I understand that it’s so you can press the “code blue” button from the patients bedside, but maybe put just the that button behind the bed and the call light switch in the actual walkway that you’ll be using?
Also, this was even more of a pain in the butt when I was nine months pregnant and literally couldn’t reach it half the time and had to have someone else turn off the button for me
Load More Replies...I was once incredibly lucky that when my workplace (a family fun center, ie: mini golf, go-karts, etc) where I was a manager, they decided to use us as a test site for a new POS system. And we got to not only meet with the programmers for function/layout, but they put in a function for us managers to program our own buttons while the system was being used by the staff as we worked out the bugs. Truly, ended up being the best POS software I've ever used. Because all us workers were consulted.
Load More Replies...1996 - the company I worked at was preparing to upgrade the customer service system. In a preparatory meeting, I suggested the IT people should come sit with us to see how we used the system & what would be needed. They actually listened & followed thru. I still remember the shock everyone in CS felt!
Facebook's motto: "If it works and users get along with it, break it ASAP."
Load More Replies...At my work, every time they update the software it gets prettier and less functional. Like I'm so glad it looks nice and clean but now I can't find anything and when I do a glitch prevents it from working anyways. But hey! It's pretty.
the updates are supposed to make everything "better" but instead make it wayyy less practical. it really do be like that.
My works it guy thought it would be brilliant to have a computer installed in the student common room so us staff could do induction talks with a presentation. Only problem is, that the put the pc box in the same locked cupboard as the xbox we have for the students, causing issues with the xbox overheating and destroying the games. The person in charge of the xbox ended up taking out the computer itself after the overheating issue rendered a disc completely recognisable to the comsole. Suddenly no issues with over heating and the games crashing. The worst part is, the it guy even asked him about it before he installed it and agreed to having a separate locked cupboard put in to avoid it then ignored it.
My every day nightmare for the past 2 years. Could you stop double billing everyone for "this". IT: it's fixed Yeah, now only half the people that have "this" are getting billed for it. I know exactly what's wr and how to tell them to fix it, but the bosses haven't figured that out on their own yet.
UGH the software upgrades are terrible! I worked at a company that switched their time keeping and security card software just about every two years and damned if I know why but it SUCKED. Every single time 🙄🙄🙄
Oh nooooo, ask the workers? What good would that bring? If they'd be intelligent enough to know what they need they'd be engineers! /s An IT person honestly told me that it was of no use to read the results of the user questionnaires because the users always wanted such useless stuff. I was the user representing the staff and he didn't listen when I tried to explain to him why we needed it. It took my boss's intervention to eventually make them listen. Then they tried to blame us for not telling them. Luckily it didn't fly.
I have repeatedly seen paper towel dispensers that you grab the towel to pull some out, but the damn thing is set so tight all you get is a very small handful of paper. Bloody useless.
I think that's purposeful to try to get people to use less paper- not that it works, obviously
Load More Replies...They put the dispenser that way on purpose, so people wouldn't use 'to much' paper and waste it...so money can be saved... in theory
...then they use tp so thin you can read through it so people have to use more anyway.
Load More Replies...I sell and install restroom dispensers. If youre unhappy with the height of the TP dispensers, it's not the architects fault. You can thank the handicapped and blame it on the ADA. That ridiculously uselessly low placement is the law.
This is my biggest pet peeve. They always put the toilet paper dispenser under the handicap rail. It should be placed above the rail.
I've asked the staff at the facility to "start" the toilet paper so one can find out where it is. You can't do that when you don't know where to start it.
The reason why they put the toilet paper so low is to reduce the contamination of the toilet paper from the toilet. Well at least for the one’s that have the giant rolls.
I hate it when the paper towel dispenser was obviously installed by a tall man! Whenever I reach up for a papet towel after washing my hands, the water runs down my arms, into my armpits! And if you try to do it quickly so you dont ens up with water the whole length of your arms, the paper towel tears and you end up with just a little piece. 😡
If you only get one sheet, here’s what to do. 1 Fold it in half twice. 2 Tear out the center corner. (Save !) 3 Open sheet, use middle finger in center hole, wipe and discard. 4 Clean under fingernail with center corner and discard.
And/or there's a 'vessel sink' like a honking great mixing bowl on a high counter. I've thought, I hope whoever designed this mess has to use this very bathroom when they're old and arthritic, and see how -they- like it.
And these are the restrooms that have no paper towels to wipe the counter dry — just blow-dryers that spread germs and still don't dry your hands
Load More Replies...How about wiping off your mess if you splash water out of the basin?
Wave sinks!!! These are the solution! The counter goes in a wave for formation, and at the crest and trough of each wave there is a sink. That way there are shorter sinks and higher sinks for different ages/heights of people, AND any water spilled automatically flows to the bottom, and inevitably into the shorter sink to drain away. Seen this in one or two places, but not nearly enough.
I have seen something like this in the Walmart bathroom. The design of the sink is good but the faucet cuts off every 5 seconds which means I still have soap on my hands and then I get soap on the faucet handle and it's difficult to get your hands clean.
Load More Replies...Sinks are my pet peeve. If it's an automatic sink, the sensor is ABOVE the basin so you're washing your hands outside of where the water collects, resulting in a river of water on the counter. Then you have sinks where the faucet is so short, so close to the edge of the basin, that you can't actually wash your hands. Who designs this s**t and why are there so many practically unusable sinks?! I feel like I need to be a youtube channel that just shames places for poor sink design.
All my city's new building have one piece sinks. The counters are sloped at a very gentle degree to allow water to run into the sink, which is mold formed into the counter, not a separate caulked insert.
I get frustrated when you wash your hands but the towels are either located too high, so that water runs up your arms and gets your sleeves wet, or sometimes the towels are even across the room, so that you drip water across the floor and creates a falling hazard for those who come into the room afterwards. Who can’t realize that towels need to be located close to the sink, at around waist height?
And you can't get enough paper our to dry your hands, let alone dry the counter
If paper towels are available, I wipe down/dry off the sink area after I wash. If not, I try to be neater and not splash so much.
I’ve heard about lots of school libraries that were centrally placed in their buildings …fantastic! Centrally placed in an atrium … not fantastic. (No walls = no crowd control, no noise control, no stock control…)
My middle school had a centralized atrium library, which the school hallways overlooked. They had balcony rails. It made being in the library feel like being at the bottom of a fish bowl. Sometimes I think about how easy it would be for a school shooter to shoot students trying to flee.
Load More Replies...I don't know if they did it but our town planned to build a new elementary school. Too many people wanted it to be centrally located by the front entrance. That will be a fun story time. One board member didn't think we'd need to buy books, the kids would all be looking at ebooks. I think my head exploded.
After reading this I'm trully thankfull that both my school and the UNI had the libraries in an isolated section. They were easy to reach but far enough to block noise.
What is that design! Ours is kind of centrally placed, however it is copletely silet and is placed with it's back end and reading space away from all the noise. All schools I've gone to the library was at the edge of the building somewhere
Our school had a big nice library with a big round table in centre. It was AWESOME. There were all kinds of books. It also had a chalkboard (white boards were installed in all classes in maybe something between year 2014-16) and I think it also had a store room, I don't really know what it was as I was too young and never went anywhere without teacher. It had school park and beautiful colored rocks in front of it, I only witnessed the rocks and not the park unlike my older siblings. The kindergarten and middle school building on left, the secondary school building in front of it, Infront of that used to be shop(few steps higher where the park used to be) It was so beautiful. Later it was moved to high school building on top floor the moved it back in a new room where the rocks were (miss you lovely rocks🥺 you so beautiful pastel colored) then removed it for some time and when the pandemic was over it was shifted to new building
It's only for girls rn but we still don't get to ever go there, lol
Load More Replies...The library at our school is located at the bottom floor on the side of the building, next to the cafetaria. It has doors and if you wanted to have a quiet place just go to the back or alternatively there are rooms inside of the library so everyone can have an extra quiet place to do stuff
At a school I taught in they put the drains in the center but sloped the floors UPWARDS towards the drains. So nothing would run in the drain unless the entire room was flooded with 1.5 inches of liquid. Our poor janitor was always fighting with the bathrooms and especially the ones for the little kids with bad aim. He'd have to hose the floor down and then sweep the pissy water towards the drains for a half hour to attempt to clean things.
Sounds like my street - the concrete has gradually sunk over 40 years, and now only the drain is at its original height, an inch or 2 above the pavement. When it rains, heavily, a kind neighbour often comes down to sweep the remaining water into the road, or it puddles there for weeks and is definitely a health hazard.
Load More Replies...I look for the floor drains in public restrooms because, naturally, the floor around them slopes downward for drainage purposes, but they are very hard for somebody like me, with impaired mobility, to walk over. I have enough trouble keeping my balance on level floors. I have to walk around the sloping floor around the drains.
Can we talk about toilets that are all convoluted like a Ferengi's head, and damned difficult to clean? There is no reason for this.
Ah, my landlord installed a toilet with smooth sides all the way to the floor. And the toiket seat clicks on, so easily removed.
Load More Replies...Local train station has universal use stalls that have proper steel doors and fittings and no gaps (yay!) and get hosed out few times a day by the station staff...but no drains or hose outlets in said stalls. So staff had to get several huge hoses connected together because the only hose outlet and drain is 100m away and they run a trolley with buckets containing the cleaning mix swab down and then hose out the stalls then sweep all that across the pedestrian concourse to the drain, hosing as they go, as the cobblestone design they went with has the stones raised almost 1cm above the grouting and the grouting is a highly absorbent concrete mix. You can imagine how helpful that also is if people are drunk and vomit or wee in random areas on the concourse
My grandmother pointed out that drains are often located exactly where the stall supports bolt down.
Disney Had A Coaster W/ Animatronic Bigfoot That Is Static Now. Movement Cracked The Foundation And Can Only Be Braced. A Proper Fix Would Have To Dismantle The Entire Ride. Too Expensive They Said
By the way you might want to figure out what’s gone wrong with your keyboard that’s making it capitalize every word :)
Load More Replies...There was a Chevy Corvette some years back that forced mechanics to dismount the engine in order to change spark plugs: the last plug was blocked by the car's frame.
The amount of time I have spent yelling curse words into the night at car designers, countless...
Load More Replies...The Communications Building at my University was built with such thick walls no one had cell service inside.
Unfortunately she's a retired time traveler so she's stuck here now.
Load More Replies...Wait ..what?? ...2024?? The fuuuuuuuuck?? Shes retired and giving a story about 2024...am guessin its 2014 though not sure...could be 2023..
Yes I thought 2014, don't know why you're so worked up about it.
Load More Replies...The computer science department at my university had two big lecture halls (100 to 200 seats) with exactly two outlets for the students. No, it was not an old building.
Four outlets? That's twice as many as we had. When our grant money came through for smart boards and tablets, we had to take turns charging things or using the smart board because it was too much of a load on the electric. The school was old - but still built in the 90s when things did use electricity - not the stone age.
I teach night classes (4 hour class sessions) at the university level. We have ONE outlet in the entire room, to power my computer, projector, doc cam, printer, and whatever else 20 students might need (laptops, phone chargers, etc.)!
my school uses technology frequently and its classes are organized in round tables with 6 sits, there should be one outlet for table and one for the teacher but there is an outlet in the middle of the class where there isnt any table, we have to put a chair in the empty space to charge or stuff and use things that use energy
Bad. Very, very bad. I don’t want forced “spontaneous conversation”, especially when I have to pee really bad.
Load More Replies...Oh, that sounds like Hell for many engineers. Many of us "nerdy" types can't hold a regular conversation. That's why we're nerds. Human interaction is not our best skill.
Imagine a space with high volume people traffic and your organization does a redesign for "efficiency" but fails to increase the capacity to the level it has grown.
Also dishwashers! It's bad enough having to bend down to load one (really, can't the top be higher than the bench without causing armageddon?) but when you have to twist as well to reach the place where dirty dishes are stored before going in then that's just beyond irritating. Also, if I can't walk past it when the door is open I am not happy.
When I open my dishwasher it blocks my front door from opening. Also it’s situated right under one of my two cabinets that I can reach without a stool (I’m 5’8” so it’s not a height problem) and I can’t put and of my dishes away right from the dishwasher because I can’t stretch far enough to reach the cabinet without falling over onto the dishwasher so I have to put all my dishes on the counter first and then move them to the cabinet. It’s ridiculous.
Load More Replies...Half my cabinet space in the kitchen is so far up I have to use a stepstool, which does have safety problems on a vinyl floor. I'm 5'4"-ish, and seriously think this apartment's kitchen was designed by someone at least 5'10" who never cooks.
Yes! Mine is the same. I'm 5'1" and grew up in my slightly taller grandparents house that he built himself and he made everything lower and so much easier to access so it is even more frustrating adapting after that! Wasn't so good for my high school boyfriend (and other tall friends) though. Ducking through doorways and hitting heads on ceiling lights.
Load More Replies...We recently moved into an apartment with a lifetime lease. When we looked at the apartment for the first time, I noticed that the kitchen cabinets were classic oak with a double oven, which was probably non-functional. The biggest issue, which caused us to gut the entire first floor, was that the kitchen base cabinets has no drawers at all! Not to mention that there was no place to put a full-sized refrigerator in the little kitchen. I wish I could post a pic on here of how exceptional the kitchen came out. We built out a wall 18" so that we could put a refrigerator and a pantry right next to it. Then instead of a dining table, we opted for a center island off to the side with two stools, more storage drawers, and a wine rack on the side. This was all designed by myself. It looks fantastic and is highly functional.
My mom and I (and probably more) hate the hight of the frigging counters, stove, and sink... It makes it painful to work on for a extended period of time...
Very true. The counters in the house I grew up in were so ideally place at a lower height, then moving to houses where they weren't was a pain. Standing to do dishes or stir things on the stove gets painful quickly, especially when we both have chronic pain conditions that get exacerbated.
Load More Replies...My kitchen is awful! I have one countertop and it includes my sink. My kitchen is huge and they seriously underutilized the space. I can't wait until I can remodel
Likewise. I also have a doorway and an arch leading into this incredibly cramped space with all the storage/cooking in one tiny area (bout 3 x 5ft space to stand in) and the rest of the kitchen is "empty" with a huge window and a double door on both walls and the other wall is right by the Master bedroom-another pet peeve because some guy obviously thought he wanted "private time" with wife ie kid's rooms across the house but didn't think about safety issues or the kids then becoming teens, getting munchies at midnight or 3am and waking one up at that time! Also the living room has huge windows facing the street but no window or door to the yard so you can't utilize natural light because you feel like a goldfish nor can you enjoy your own yard from the living area.
Load More Replies...After going through all these post the common theme seems to be that the stakeholders have a very minimal part if any, in any idea for designing anything. And in fact the same is true for any policy making as well.
I have dreamed for years of a top loader, drawer style, dishwasher that didn't require my horrible back to bend over so much that I end up using the dw as an extra cabinet. Make it a build in or something. That would be so awesome, or make it when open, you can raise and lower the racks. That shouldn't even be hard or expensive. They do bigger than that on pickups and I know people who would buy this at gunpoint nearly. ( Overdramatic ofc)
Actually, there is a dishwasher that can raise the bottom rack! My friend has one. You still have to bend to raise it, but just once and you don't have to bend for every single plate. It was more expensive than my basic model of course, but I'd gladly pay if I knew it was a thing. It was an Electrolux, I think - I don't know if they are available where you live, but there might be other models like this!
Load More Replies...handicapped spots that only leave the open space next to the drivers side and with the passenger side right next to regular spot. Since many handicapped people are not doing the driving, it makes getting out of the car difficult without hitting the other car.
The toilet in my apartment has those stupid sides that cover the bolts that hold the seat down, so the only way to remove the seat is by reaching around the back of the toilet, which is physically impossible because of its proximity to the wall. The seat is broken, but I can't replace it. What kind of idiot would design that?
In my middle school we had outlets right UNDER the automatic soap dispensers. I remember trying to plug in a microscope and ruining the cord but I seriously dont understand how people dont notice that stuff!
Yes!!! I remember I went to a cheer competition once and my hotel bathroom had the toilet paper dispenser across the room attached to the sink while the toilet was on the other side beside the shower. I remember my period had started while I was there and it felt like torture
Airport Bathroom stall doors should always open out, so you can wheel your suitcase in and still be able to close the door.
Every public bathroom should. In winter and/or carrying something, you have to be a contortionist in some of them.
Load More Replies...Well. That IS the point of a sloped roof, especially when the weather gets warmer, you don't want that heavy combination of snow and water on your roof. Homeowners should remove the snow from the sidewalk, though.
It is the point yeah, but then don't put a walkway directly under the roofline. Our house has a walkway right where the roof unloads, so we put in a new one. It's too dangerous to walk on one where roof snow could dump on you at any time, where the dripping water makes constant ice.
Load More Replies...I personally like a pedestal sink. It discourages clutter and is easy to clean and very sleek looking
For a hotel, depending on mirror placement in the room, it can be difficult to get things done like shaving, makeup, hair styling, etc. without the counter space.
Load More Replies...I stayed at the SLS South Beach when it was brand new in 2012 and the bathroom was perfect. Very much like the one in the pic. The shower didn't have bottom rubber either but the water never accumulated or run out. When I arrived I thought it was too small and panicked about the shower but my fears were unfounded.
I was "all in love" with pedestal sinks - until I had one. I remodeled my bathroom, put in a gorgeous new one and thought it was awesome. Until several months down the line I got rid of it (at a loss) and put in a sink + cabinet. My bathroom is el-shaped with the toilet in the small el. Every time you sit on the toilet you're looking at the UGLY back of the pedestal support part.
.....not really, I mean enamel is a bit more basic than marble 🤨
Load More Replies...in the case of the second one "If I park here will the building melt my car"
Could be, but design could also be a big problem
Load More Replies...I'll add to this - architects who design hospitals. It's all lovely having double/triple-height ceilings to create the feel of light and space, but try cleaning up there! Skylight windows also get full of cobwebs our cleaning teams struggle to reach without injuring themselves. Architectural features with little dust-collecting ledges are also a pain. We wish they would think about how their designs might make cleaning difficult and therefore not help us control infection so well.
100% agree with that, have seen some really great hospital designs (for example one where the linoleum in corridors curved up and ended up flush with the wall surface, so there were no skirting ledges to gather dust or corners that couldn't be mopped). Then when they built a new local hospital near me, standard hallways and rooms, then a central atrium which everything looked over with glass lifts and windowsills at every window. Result was it was impossible to keep clean, soon every room has a view of a sill with dust and detritus on it, and the top of the lifts are filthy and can be seen from inside, as well as all the windows above.
Load More Replies...Like I said in another comment. I hate how badly designed things are if you are handicapped. Urban architects and engineers should live a month in a wheelchair or with a stroller before they do things. For example the metro at my parents city is """adapted""" for us, they put a beautiful disabled sticker and cheered of how amazing they are. The metros are taller than the platforms and it leaves a small step. Small enough that a walking person wont notice but bit enough that my disabilities scotter cannot get there... The apartment where my grandma lives got their entrance renovated a few years ago to add a ramp to the elevator. They spent a fortune making it fancy. But to get to the ramp you need to go up two steps. My gran goes on a wheelchair and cannot get out of her appartment without help...
I absolutely agree. Chair user here. Things might be "ADA compliant" but the designers who decided on minimum standards weren't doing us any favors. I've got more scrapes on my knuckles from rooms what were supposedly wheelchair friendly but were too narrow to move in. Take our town hall - the handicap ramp is located down the block and it's closed off by a chained and locked gate which nobody knows where the key is. However, handicap parking is in front, so you have to roll down the block to come back up (if they have the key). I tried to go to a town meeting to complain and couldn't even get in because of the stairs. Their response - "we put the parking close, that's good enough." WTF?!
Load More Replies...Once a public restroom I was using regularly was vandalized in the most useful way possible: Someone brought a large nail and drove it into the door on the inside. He was heavily fined for it and banned from the presmises, but of course they let the nail in place, as it was the perfect height to hang coats, as none of the original planners had thought of adding a clothing hook. Of course, this was a european style toilet, with an actual door and no gap...
We got a huge grant and built this massive building on campus. They got all fancy with the building design and it is pretty much 100% glass, in Florida, in the sun. Half of the building is always boiling while the other half is freezing because the sun bakes the side with the sun and the AC is on full blast non-stop. They tested the temps and some people will be in their 89 degree office while the other side of the building has people working in 50 degree weather. That and the glass stair case and walk ways that you could see up someone's skirt when standing on the ground floor. Millions of dollars for the worst building on campus to work in.
I do agree with all the complaints. However, I am that much more grateful for the way my work is designed. I work at a bar and grill that is well established. About 6-7 years ago, a man who owns and operates a successful construction company had bought the establishment. He then renovated the kitchen and had us cooks basically design it when expanding it. He is always listening to our ideas and makes changes when he sees that it will increase productivity. Awesome guy and great to work for.
Imo architects in general don't give a flying f*** about the people who will have to use what they built.
Don't design contracts require the architect to personally demonstrate the functionality and useability of their designs? I mean, if I was in the army and got someone to design and build a new gun, I'd want them to demonstrate that it actually works, that it can be used in the field, that it can be maintained and repaired, etc.
Load More Replies...How about the architects who design a home with 20x30 bedrooms expecting people to fill them with 7 a foot tall armoire, and 8 foot long dresser, but make the stairway turn after 5 steps and then end in a wall at the top of the stairs? It's great to have the space upstairs, but you have to think about how the furniture will get there.
As an architect, a lot of the issues here are not the architect's fault. In America, ADA requirements tie our hands so much in public buildings. You go have no idea the headache it can be to ensure your building is in complete compliance. Further, it is very rare that we ever get the freedom to design what we want. In the end, all we do is design what our clients want. We can't just add things as we would like. We can make suggestions, but the client will almost always prefer the bare minimum needed. We have no say in adding hooks, shelves, etc. It is not our money.
As someone in a wheelchair ADA requirements aren't even good enough. They're bare minimum and rarely actually useful for a chair user. I do understand what you mean about bare minimum - worked a construction company first job of of college and whenever we did bathrooms they'd want minimum cost. No hooks and useless smallest size sinks that get cramped once you add the paper towel dispenser and soap dispenser.
Load More Replies...The hospital I worked in had carpet in the hallways for YEARS. MRSA, C- diff, all SORTS of lovely stuff hitching a ride on your shoes back home with you...
I'll add to this - architects who design hospitals. It's all lovely having double/triple-height ceilings to create the feel of light and space, but try cleaning up there! Skylight windows also get full of cobwebs our cleaning teams struggle to reach without injuring themselves. Architectural features with little dust-collecting ledges are also a pain. We wish they would think about how their designs might make cleaning difficult and therefore not help us control infection so well.
100% agree with that, have seen some really great hospital designs (for example one where the linoleum in corridors curved up and ended up flush with the wall surface, so there were no skirting ledges to gather dust or corners that couldn't be mopped). Then when they built a new local hospital near me, standard hallways and rooms, then a central atrium which everything looked over with glass lifts and windowsills at every window. Result was it was impossible to keep clean, soon every room has a view of a sill with dust and detritus on it, and the top of the lifts are filthy and can be seen from inside, as well as all the windows above.
Load More Replies...Like I said in another comment. I hate how badly designed things are if you are handicapped. Urban architects and engineers should live a month in a wheelchair or with a stroller before they do things. For example the metro at my parents city is """adapted""" for us, they put a beautiful disabled sticker and cheered of how amazing they are. The metros are taller than the platforms and it leaves a small step. Small enough that a walking person wont notice but bit enough that my disabilities scotter cannot get there... The apartment where my grandma lives got their entrance renovated a few years ago to add a ramp to the elevator. They spent a fortune making it fancy. But to get to the ramp you need to go up two steps. My gran goes on a wheelchair and cannot get out of her appartment without help...
I absolutely agree. Chair user here. Things might be "ADA compliant" but the designers who decided on minimum standards weren't doing us any favors. I've got more scrapes on my knuckles from rooms what were supposedly wheelchair friendly but were too narrow to move in. Take our town hall - the handicap ramp is located down the block and it's closed off by a chained and locked gate which nobody knows where the key is. However, handicap parking is in front, so you have to roll down the block to come back up (if they have the key). I tried to go to a town meeting to complain and couldn't even get in because of the stairs. Their response - "we put the parking close, that's good enough." WTF?!
Load More Replies...Once a public restroom I was using regularly was vandalized in the most useful way possible: Someone brought a large nail and drove it into the door on the inside. He was heavily fined for it and banned from the presmises, but of course they let the nail in place, as it was the perfect height to hang coats, as none of the original planners had thought of adding a clothing hook. Of course, this was a european style toilet, with an actual door and no gap...
We got a huge grant and built this massive building on campus. They got all fancy with the building design and it is pretty much 100% glass, in Florida, in the sun. Half of the building is always boiling while the other half is freezing because the sun bakes the side with the sun and the AC is on full blast non-stop. They tested the temps and some people will be in their 89 degree office while the other side of the building has people working in 50 degree weather. That and the glass stair case and walk ways that you could see up someone's skirt when standing on the ground floor. Millions of dollars for the worst building on campus to work in.
I do agree with all the complaints. However, I am that much more grateful for the way my work is designed. I work at a bar and grill that is well established. About 6-7 years ago, a man who owns and operates a successful construction company had bought the establishment. He then renovated the kitchen and had us cooks basically design it when expanding it. He is always listening to our ideas and makes changes when he sees that it will increase productivity. Awesome guy and great to work for.
Imo architects in general don't give a flying f*** about the people who will have to use what they built.
Don't design contracts require the architect to personally demonstrate the functionality and useability of their designs? I mean, if I was in the army and got someone to design and build a new gun, I'd want them to demonstrate that it actually works, that it can be used in the field, that it can be maintained and repaired, etc.
Load More Replies...How about the architects who design a home with 20x30 bedrooms expecting people to fill them with 7 a foot tall armoire, and 8 foot long dresser, but make the stairway turn after 5 steps and then end in a wall at the top of the stairs? It's great to have the space upstairs, but you have to think about how the furniture will get there.
As an architect, a lot of the issues here are not the architect's fault. In America, ADA requirements tie our hands so much in public buildings. You go have no idea the headache it can be to ensure your building is in complete compliance. Further, it is very rare that we ever get the freedom to design what we want. In the end, all we do is design what our clients want. We can't just add things as we would like. We can make suggestions, but the client will almost always prefer the bare minimum needed. We have no say in adding hooks, shelves, etc. It is not our money.
As someone in a wheelchair ADA requirements aren't even good enough. They're bare minimum and rarely actually useful for a chair user. I do understand what you mean about bare minimum - worked a construction company first job of of college and whenever we did bathrooms they'd want minimum cost. No hooks and useless smallest size sinks that get cramped once you add the paper towel dispenser and soap dispenser.
Load More Replies...The hospital I worked in had carpet in the hallways for YEARS. MRSA, C- diff, all SORTS of lovely stuff hitching a ride on your shoes back home with you...
