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50 Times People Spotted Stupid Design Decisions In Public Places And Just Had To Share
We often form our opinion of a city by judging the quality of its public spaces. If they give us a hard time, most likely we won't be too psyched about returning to it.
And unfortunately, there are plenty of ways urban planners and interior designers ruin our everyday life and force us into dreadful anxiety-inducing situations.
They make us sit on uncomfortable benches, walk around trippy floors, and go number two in bathroom stalls so revealing, others are able to see our facial expressions.
To show how ridiculous it can get, Bored Panda has put together some of the worst public space "solutions" ever created—we deserve better!
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The Chairs Waiting For You In The Laser Eye Clinic's Reception
"I'm Sure You're All Wondering Why I've Gathered You Here Today"
To learn more about the topic, I got in touch with interior architect and lecturer of interior design at Vilnius College of Design, Judita Striukienė.
When we hear the term public space, we usually think of the outdoors. "Places like parks, gardens, and squares are often popular city attractions," Striukienė told Bored Panda. "They not only provide environmental and recreational benefits but also form a city's identity."
No Words Needed Here
As If Public Toilets Didn’t Give Me Enough Anxiety
However, public spaces can also be indoors. "These interiors can be both functional and aesthetic," Striukienė said.
"Think of health service establishments, for example. A well-executed professional interior design can even have a positive effect on the patients. It can relieve their stress and put them in a calmer state of mind."
In fact, Kjetil Trædal Thorsen, the co-founder of the architecture firm Snøhetta, argues that architects must begin considering indoor space just as public as outdoor space.
"Maybe with the sole exception of railway stations, public space is generally understood as outdoor space," Thorsen wrote. "Whether in the United States or in Europe, especially now with heightened concerns around security, there seems to be this determined way of privatizing everything that is indoors, even as we are increasingly aiming to improve access to public space outdoors. But in the layered systems of our cities of the future, we will need to focus on the public spaces that are found inside buildings—and make them accessible."
At First Glance, I Didn’t Recognize This Restaurant Mural As The Sun
To get his point across, Thorsen highlighted a map of Rome made in 1748 by Giambattista Nolli. It only had two distinctions—what was private and what was public. "Whether it was indoor or outdoor, whether there was a church space or a plaza, it didn't really matter. [The map] told a different story of the city."
"There are some examples from today—the roof of our Oslo Opera House is outdoors, for instance, but it's on the building and publicly accessible. Opening up the Louvre and trying to let people walk through it 24 hours a day—as with the museum's recent takeover by the artist JR—is another way of not making a distinction between indoor and outdoor public space."
This Fountain That Looks Like A Perfect Place To Sit Down
I wonder how many people realised that when it was to late...
Gas Station In Nebraska. The Station's Color Scheme Was Red. They Tried To Get Artsy
No Broken Legs I Know Of
Thorsen thinks such decisions are essential to the way new architecture typologies develop, and architects should definitely have an influence on them.
"In certain situations, accessibility to indoor public space is enough," he said. "In other situations, you have to define the program for the particular indoor or outdoor spaces to be adequate. To use the example of the roof of the Opera House in Oslo again, it was basically programmed only for one thing, and that's to be walked on, for a promenade. But on occasion, it could be reprogrammed to hold an outdoor concert. Or it could be reprogrammed against the original intention by skaters or by a biker who actually drives his motorbike up and down the roof."
Flat Carpet In A Hotel In Cologne, Germany Imitating A Curvy Surface
Fake Hope Escalator
The Design Of My School - This Is The Place Where Every Hallway Intersects
Two Windows Of My Workplace Are Constantly Fighting For The Honor Of Being The One Who Is Going To Be Opened
The city belongs to its citizens. No matter if we're talking about what's inside or outside. And, according to Thorsen, these two dimensions can even intertwine.
"Maybe the outdoor can be programmed in such a way that it unlocks the possibility of the public spaces indoors. There's always a bit of urban planning in designing interiors. There's always a bit of interior design in an urban space. There's no question that interior architecture is professionalizing itself as well—interior architects are not seen as decorators of interior space anymore. The same is true of landscape architects. And those are only the traditional design professions," the architect said.
The Single Worst Clock I Have Ever Seen. I Actually Said Aloud "Whyyy"
They Built This School Like One Month Ago
Ballroom Where Everyone Downstairs Can See Up Your Skirt
This Is Not Rust. “It’s The Design”
Of course, that doesn't mean that every architect needs to be trained in every specialized profession. What Thorsen meant was that the industry is lacking an overall understanding of how people should collaborate.
"That's why we've introduced transposition as a working method in our office, where you not only sit around tables with a lot of specialists, but you actually swap professions during creative workshops," he said. "The only thing that can save the essence of architecture is some kind of collaborative model like this."
I Love Eating At Restaurant Logo Here
This Fancy Staircase Leads Directly Into A Wall
This Chandelier At A Restaurant I Ate At Bothers Me So Much
This Picture In McDonald's Was Hung Sideways
By adopting this model both in education and practice, Thorsen believes we would be better equipped to fully understand the effects of programming.
"We are usually generalists enough to understand that a change of use is sometimes demanded and that we shouldn't try to desperately hold on to certain kinds of programming. But the profession itself should, in my opinion, really contain that kind of knowledge, simply because it’s so tightly connected to the actual design task."
As these pictures show, we need to improve the relationship between buildings and the public. And Thorsen thinks there's no way we can do that without getting directly involved in programming ourselves.
Designed For Dissuading The Homeless. Literally Just Uncomfortable For Everyone Else
This Painting Inside A Local “Fancy” Restaurant
$1 Toothbrushes Locked Behind Glass At Walmart. Walked Around The Store For 15 Minutes Looking For Someone “Qualified” To Unlock The Glass Case
Then had to be escorted to the register with said $1 toothbrush. I could walk out of here with an air fryer easier than a toothbrush
That's really odd. I've never seen regular toothbrushes locked up behind glass. Maybe there are some town hooligans going around stealing toothbrushes...
Homeless/ drifters often steal toothbrushes, shampoo, soap, tampons/ pads, and socks. It's sad that these necessities are often not included in care packages.
Load More Replies...Meanwhile, in the aisle dedicated to guns "lol, pistols go pew pew... wanna try, kids?"
the Walmart I go to was actually in the "nice" area and is all locked up too. Target is next to it, and they don't have any issues with people stealing stuff or anything. You pay at the self-check and leave and nobody asks you for your receipt or anything.
Load More Replies...IF you look in the bottom right corner, there's a $100 Oral B electric toothbrush on a shelf that's not locked up.
Ah, I wondered how long it would be before someone spotted that. Full marks for observation !
Load More Replies...toothbrushes are a commonly stolen item, like many hygiene products, because we live in a hellscape where people are forced to steal to meet their basic needs.
You had ONE JOB! And you still mixed up cigarettes and toothbrushes...
Yep, Walmart also does this with facial products. It’s more protected then electronics.
"Qualified"? What qualification is needed for that? Other than just knowing how to operate a lock, which anyone should know already if they're old enough to have a job. Just find someone with the key or at least someone who can page them to the aisle.
Yeah, our walmart locks up the men's socks and underwear and I absolutely refuse to ask someone's permission to buy underwear. I hope others boycott this nonsense as well
if someone has to steal $1 toothbrushes, maybe just take the loss
I laughed a little too much at the "find someone qualified to open a cabinet"
As a overnight cleaner at Walmart I can say the same. Couldn't buy my usual earbuds for the same reason, said fkit I wasn't waiting around for help
I think I’ve now seen it all in terms of stuff being locked up in stores. Usually is laundry detergent, baby formula, tne entire section of African American hair products which is awful, and now toothbrushes...$1 toothbrushes?!
Obviously the expensive toothbrushes are locked up for a reason, and it doesn't surprise me that someone just doesn't care and locked up the $1 toothbrushes to save on space.
It is masterlock puck lock. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxmmwWwW6TY
Different Walmarts lock up different things depending on what's getting stolen. I used to have a job where I travelled from city to city, and I came up with what I called the Walmart metric - To get a feel for an area, I find the nearest Walmart and walk up and down the isles to see what kinds of things they lock up. That can give you some clue as to who is in the neighborhood and what they can't afford. Like if they lock up the perfume and makeup and razors and cologne - probably a lot of singles out there just trying to look their best. Sometimes I see the most random things locked up, like one place had the entire sock isle locked up, not underwear or anything else in clothing, just all the socks. One place had all the Lego's locked up. Probably the saddest ones I see is when all the baby formula and diapers are locked up.
Where's the $1 toothbrush? I see a $70 toothbrush surrounded by toothbrushes that cost a variety of prices. A computer algorithm decides what gets locked up based on what is stolen most often.
They are 7 bucks. Easily stealable. Didn't know there was a black market for toothbrushes.
In one of our local stores they lock up knives but leave the axes open.
Can't tell if that's Walmart. Haven't stepped in that garbage store in over 20 yrs. Go Target!!
Cant tell if that's Walmart. Haven't stepped 1 foot in that garbage joint in over 20 years. Go Target!!
It's obvs locked up because of the electric toothbrushes but why they feel the need to put ordinary ones in there goodness only knows.
A store where anyone can walk out without paying, as long as the total is under $950. it is Just Sad
Is there a worldwide shortage? Maybe I can sell my Spin Brush on eBay?
Must have some toothbrush fetish.. or perhaps just utilising space they had once displayed all that shonky junky fake jewellery, perhaps someone just put the door frame with locks to look ..oh I don't know..logic never rules all.
And yet Walmart used to keep the BB guns and the BBs right next to each other on a shelf. Tried to tell them (when I worked there over 20 yrs ago) that it was a really dumb idea, literally the next weekend, some kid loaded one and started shooting. Tried to tell them....
I live in Baltimore and there are plenty of stores that have the same set up .. think about ppl steal multiple toothbrush toothpaste and the little things you need and set up at a flea market or on the corner of the street ( Baltimore people do it ) and make a killing
Is it me or is there not a single 1 dollar toothbrush in that cabinet as mentioned in the post.
Yeah, I noticed that too! But it looks as if all of them are marked down, so I thought that maybe $1 was the discount price...
Load More Replies...Man, do u know how much toothbrushes go for in the streets of wtfville?
It is very sad to see but totally necessary. A great many stores are going a different route, they are closing the stores suffering the most losses from theft.
Right next to the case... Outside of it... Hundred dollar water picks...
the Wal-Mart near us have condoms and $1 flashlights behind the glass and they walk you to the register also.
To be fair, it's only secured by Master lock. No real security here, as far as I can tell.
Must be Tennessee.... Sorry I had to say that but I do live here and I am from here...
This is a dentist support company that encourage people NOT to buy toothbrushes
Betcha you could have bought ammo and fishing license waiting for someone to unlock that case
As I can see they have electrical toothbrushes too and they are not 1$
Nobody is stealing air fryers!! Think how many toothbrushes have to be stolen, before locking them up makes sense!!
The electric toothbrushes are often stolen. Its not the 1 dollar toothbrushes they are after, but since they were in the same "mod" they get to be locked up too. This is one of the reasons stealing from Walmart only ends up harming/ inconveniencing the other customers and making employee lives more difficult because they are expected to do the same amount of work as before while now escorting you and your item to the front.
A discrimation suit was filed because the lesser brushes felt excluded from the private club
I think the case is for the more expensive ones but the cheap ones get stolen too easily.
I’ve seen switches and other electronics behind glass, and even legos, but this…
That same thing happens in a local supermarket here in my city (in Mexico) 🤔
Maybe they saw Home Alone and wanted to protect the toothbrushes.
But the Oral-B whatever it is next to the locked cabinet that is $99.97 with just a spider/wire lock on it....
At my local Walmart, the perfumes and Plan B are locked up together on the same shelf. My teenage daughter calls it the "date night section"...
Even though I don’t agree with it—-just f*****g hire more staff, and maybe security while you’re at it, idiot suits at corporate or stingy franchisees!—-I can see locking up the electric toothbrushes, as well as expensive packs of replacement razor blades, but not the cheaper manual brushes.
It's a Master lock, it takes all of 2 seconds to open with a toothpick
They do this with pregnancy tests/condoms in the supermarket near me but regular toothbrushes...?!
They have razors and blade refills locked at Walmarts around here. Also perfume, makeup, baby formula, and many other things. Too many to mention. Now even steaks have alarms on them. It's not homeless people doing most of the theft.
Load More Replies...Some People Just Want To Watch The World Burn
This Restaurant In London (Waiters Love It)
Toilet Door With Another Door In It That Won't Stay Closed
You Gotta Pay Attention On These Stairs In A Cinema
My Bed At A Hotel I'm Staying In
So, you wake up, bonk your head at this, and then the flower pot falls on you
Public Restrooms With Reflective Surfaces
This Is Russia
This Is The Logo For A "New York Style" Pizza Place In Ponce, Puerto Rico
I Don't Know Why Brown Strings Is A Welcoming Wallpaper To This Toilet Entrance. It Just Feels Gross And Unwelcoming. I Mean, This Is A Public Place
These Restroom Stalls Have Translucent Doors
This New Wall Art In My Office
Upon Walking In This Bathroom At The Supermarket I Was Initially Disgusted At Filth And Lack Of Cleanliness Until A Closer Look Revealed It Was Designed This Way
And it is designed that way so you don't see the filth that is definitely still there.
The Lobby Of This Medical Office Has An Alligator In The Floor
Not Exactly The Color Pattern You Like To See In A Bathroom
"Not the pattern you want to see in the bathroom"? OK, I'll bite: Where on earth would you want to see this pattern?
Love To Shutterstock See This Kind Of Stuff
They didn't just print the stock photo without noticing, someone hand painted this with the stock photo as reference 💀💀💀
The Paint In This Public Restroom
Sometimes People Use The Left Part
The Decorations On This Hotel Restaurant
This Poster In My School Cafeteria Is So Badly Designed They Put Arrows So You Can Read It Correctly
I'm Sure This Mirror Sounded Cool In Theory
Not Sure If This Belongs Here But In My Opinion This Is The Real Problem With America. It's A Toilet Stall If You Were Wondering
New Toilets At Work, Wonderful View On Our Interior Courtyard
These Trash Cans At My School
Given their outdated school logo, I would say awareness of racism isn't their forté.
A Poster At My Mom's Audiology Office
I Had To Stop While Ordering Food At A Local Restaurant Because I Saw This Poster
50me mials lldo ionat ned. Ah yes. Just summoning a demon. Don't mind me.
Went In To A Bathroom In Airport And Was Surprised With This. Almost Turned Towards Exit Before Realization
Note: this post originally had 129 images. It’s been shortened to the top 49 images based on user votes.
How do some things even get finished without someone somewhere saying that it is a bad idea. To all to all those companies with tiles that look like that have poo on them, were you drunk when you designed it and all the way through to conception?
Because someone is getting paid. They don't care that it is screwed up. They just finish the job so they can collect their pay check. They are not going to wait for some on to correct the problem, which could take weeks, months or longer.
Load More Replies...This was so funny 😂😂😂😂I couldn't hold my laugh at all. I just keep questioning WHY?! JUST WHY?!
None of these people went to design school, they're just horrible people.
Load More Replies...So can you do one on excellent and functional design in the public space. For example, In Switzerland the airports have free luggage carts that are equipped to go up and down the escalators. Brilliant! We need more smart design and less "just gettin' by."
For those Brits (or just people in general who don't like the space between bathroom stall doors... such as myself), there was a stall like that at my school when I was a kid that had a crack directly aligned with the mirror. Anyone could look in the mirror at the right angle and see right where the toilet sat. Needless to say, barely anyone used this particular stall :)
I found the one with the hearing aid batteries hilarious. I love you can supposedly "hear" the Grand Canyon, Italy and Prague! Lmao?
I will never understand the “fashion, never function” aesthetic.
Yoh I looked at all these pictures n am shocked.peoples or designers have a s**t sense of humour .you really get some whacked stuff out there.thanks to the photographer for showing us these n making me laugh
Both my parents are engineers... Should I show them this or not?
I worked at a school where the teachers bathroom was also the supply closet. There were shelves and boxes of documents. And then they just put a toilet and a sink in there. Didn't seem sanitary *at all*
Or the other way around most likely. And no it's very unsanitary especially with COVID 19. The virus (found in fecal material) that people cough in that room lives on inanimate objects for 48 hours so could easily be spread to the entire school population within hours.
Load More Replies...It's entirely possible considering the enormous size of the internet, it's continual growth and the length of time in existence. You may have seen some but it doesn't mean others have.
Load More Replies...Sirs I am only saying that because I genuinely want to teach them the difference. I mean I'm 20 and I can read and write better than 25-30 year Olds and up, when I correct someone I'm not trying to be a grammar nazi I'm trying to teach them the proper way to spell and pronounce something. And yes I do believe teenage slang has a part to play because people will sit there and say u, ur, etc. I am only saying it could influence them not knowing the difference between your, you're, you've. And even words like they're, their, they've, I have seen those used wrong so many times and by people alot older than me. Not trying to be rude or mean towards anybody her I am just genuinely wanting to teach some of them. P.S. not talking about people who currently have A's in english, I'm talking about the ones who are failing. (and I'm also not talking about the ones who have reading/writing disabilities they get free passes)and sure I may not be a dictionary but when I read outloud and wrote back in middle school my teacher set me as a prime example for people in 8th grade.
P.s.s, just trying to teach older generations proper etiquette.
Load More Replies...How do some things even get finished without someone somewhere saying that it is a bad idea. To all to all those companies with tiles that look like that have poo on them, were you drunk when you designed it and all the way through to conception?
Because someone is getting paid. They don't care that it is screwed up. They just finish the job so they can collect their pay check. They are not going to wait for some on to correct the problem, which could take weeks, months or longer.
Load More Replies...This was so funny 😂😂😂😂I couldn't hold my laugh at all. I just keep questioning WHY?! JUST WHY?!
None of these people went to design school, they're just horrible people.
Load More Replies...So can you do one on excellent and functional design in the public space. For example, In Switzerland the airports have free luggage carts that are equipped to go up and down the escalators. Brilliant! We need more smart design and less "just gettin' by."
For those Brits (or just people in general who don't like the space between bathroom stall doors... such as myself), there was a stall like that at my school when I was a kid that had a crack directly aligned with the mirror. Anyone could look in the mirror at the right angle and see right where the toilet sat. Needless to say, barely anyone used this particular stall :)
I found the one with the hearing aid batteries hilarious. I love you can supposedly "hear" the Grand Canyon, Italy and Prague! Lmao?
I will never understand the “fashion, never function” aesthetic.
Yoh I looked at all these pictures n am shocked.peoples or designers have a s**t sense of humour .you really get some whacked stuff out there.thanks to the photographer for showing us these n making me laugh
Both my parents are engineers... Should I show them this or not?
I worked at a school where the teachers bathroom was also the supply closet. There were shelves and boxes of documents. And then they just put a toilet and a sink in there. Didn't seem sanitary *at all*
Or the other way around most likely. And no it's very unsanitary especially with COVID 19. The virus (found in fecal material) that people cough in that room lives on inanimate objects for 48 hours so could easily be spread to the entire school population within hours.
Load More Replies...It's entirely possible considering the enormous size of the internet, it's continual growth and the length of time in existence. You may have seen some but it doesn't mean others have.
Load More Replies...Sirs I am only saying that because I genuinely want to teach them the difference. I mean I'm 20 and I can read and write better than 25-30 year Olds and up, when I correct someone I'm not trying to be a grammar nazi I'm trying to teach them the proper way to spell and pronounce something. And yes I do believe teenage slang has a part to play because people will sit there and say u, ur, etc. I am only saying it could influence them not knowing the difference between your, you're, you've. And even words like they're, their, they've, I have seen those used wrong so many times and by people alot older than me. Not trying to be rude or mean towards anybody her I am just genuinely wanting to teach some of them. P.S. not talking about people who currently have A's in english, I'm talking about the ones who are failing. (and I'm also not talking about the ones who have reading/writing disabilities they get free passes)and sure I may not be a dictionary but when I read outloud and wrote back in middle school my teacher set me as a prime example for people in 8th grade.
P.s.s, just trying to teach older generations proper etiquette.
Load More Replies...