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, We has put together some of the worst public space “solutions” ever created—we deserve better!
#1 The Chairs Waiting For You In The Laser Eye Clinic’s Reception
#2 “I’m Sure You’re All Wondering Why I’ve Gathered You Here Today”
To learn more about the topic, I got in touch with interior architect and lecturer of interior design at Vilnius College of Design, Judita Striukienė.
When we hear the term public space, we usually think of the outdoors. “Places like parks, gardens, and squares are often popular city attractions,” Striukienė told We. “They not only provide environmental and recreational benefits but also form a city’s identity.”
#3 No Words Needed Here
#4 As If Public Toilets Didn’t Give Me Enough Anxiety
However, public spaces can also be indoors. “These interiors can be both functional and aesthetic,” Striukienė said.
“Think of health service establishments, for example. A well-executed professional interior design can even have a positive effect on the patients. It can relieve their stress and put them in a calmer state of mind.”
In fact, Kjetil Trædal Thorsen, the co-founder of the architecture firm Snøhetta, argues that architects must begin considering indoor space just as public as outdoor space.
“Maybe with the sole exception of railway stations, public space is generally understood as outdoor space,” Thorsen wrote. “Whether in the United States or in Europe, especially now with heightened concerns around security, there seems to be this determined way of privatizing everything that is indoors, even as we are increasingly aiming to improve access to public space outdoors. But in the layered systems of our cities of the future, we will need to focus on the public spaces that are found inside buildings—and make them accessible.”
#5 At First Glance, I Didn’t Recognize This Restaurant Mural As The Sun
To get his point across, Thorsen highlighted a map of Rome made in 1748 by Giambattista Nolli. It only had two distinctions—what was private and what was public. “Whether it was indoor or outdoor, whether there was a church space or a plaza, it didn’t really matter. [The map] told a different story of the city.”
“There are some examples from today—the roof of our Oslo Opera House is outdoors, for instance, but it’s on the building and publicly accessible. Opening up the Louvre and trying to let people walk through it 24 hours a day—as with the museum’s recent takeover by the artist JR—is another way of not making a distinction between indoor and outdoor public space.”
#6 This Fountain That Looks Like A Perfect Place To Sit Down
#7 Gas Station In Nebraska. The Station’s Color Scheme Was Red. They Tried To Get Artsy
#8 No Broken Legs I Know Of
Thorsen thinks such decisions are essential to the way new architecture typologies develop, and architects should definitely have an influence on them.
“In certain situations, accessibility to indoor public space is enough,” he said. “In other situations, you have to define the program for the particular indoor or outdoor spaces to be adequate. To use the example of the roof of the Opera House in Oslo again, it was basically programmed only for one thing, and that’s to be walked on, for a promenade. But on occasion, it could be reprogrammed to hold an outdoor concert. Or it could be reprogrammed against the original intention by skaters or by a biker who actually drives his motorbike up and down the roof.”
#9 Flat Carpet In A Hotel In Cologne, Germany Imitating A Curvy Surface
#10 Fake Hope Escalator
#11 The Design Of My School – This Is The Place Where Every Hallway Intersects
#12 Two Windows Of My Workplace Are Constantly Fighting For The Honor Of Being The One Who Is Going To Be Opened
The city belongs to its citizens. No matter if we’re talking about what’s inside or outside. And, according to Thorsen, these two dimensions can even intertwine.
“Maybe the outdoor can be programmed in such a way that it unlocks the possibility of the public spaces indoors. There’s always a bit of urban planning in designing interiors. There’s always a bit of interior design in an urban space. There’s no question that interior architecture is professionalizing itself as well—interior architects are not seen as decorators of interior space anymore. The same is true of landscape architects. And those are only the traditional design professions,” the architect said.
#13 The Single Worst Clock I Have Ever Seen. I Actually Said Aloud “Whyyy”
#14 They Built This School Like One Month Ago
#15 Ballroom Where Everyone Downstairs Can See Up Your Skirt
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#16 This Is Not Rust. “It’s The Design”
Of course, that doesn’t mean that every architect needs to be trained in every specialized profession. What Thorsen meant was that the industry is lacking an overall understanding of how people should collaborate.
“That’s why we’ve introduced transposition as a working method in our office, where you not only sit around tables with a lot of specialists, but you actually swap professions during creative workshops,” he said. “The only thing that can save the essence of architecture is some kind of collaborative model like this.”
#17 I Love Eating At Restaurant Logo Here
#18 This Fancy Staircase Leads Directly Into A Wall
#19 This Chandelier At A Restaurant I Ate At Bothers Me So Much
#20 This Picture In McDonald’s Was Hung Sideways
By adopting this model both in education and practice, Thorsen believes we would be better equipped to fully understand the effects of programming.
“We are usually generalists enough to understand that a change of use is sometimes demanded and that we shouldn’t try to desperately hold on to certain kinds of programming. But the profession itself should, in my opinion, really contain that kind of knowledge, simply because it’s so tightly connected to the actual design task.”
As these pictures show, we need to improve the relationship between buildings and the public. And Thorsen thinks there’s no way we can do that without getting directly involved in programming ourselves.
#21 Designed For Dissuading The Homeless. Literally Just Uncomfortable For Everyone Else
#22 This Painting Inside A Local “Fancy” Restaurant
#23 $1 Toothbrushes Locked Behind Glass At Walmart. Walked Around The Store For 15 Minutes Looking For Someone “Qualified” To Unlock The Glass Case
Then had to be escorted to the register with said $1 toothbrush. I could walk out of here with an air fryer easier than a toothbrush
#24 Some People Just Want To Watch The World Burn
#25 This Restaurant In London (Waiters Love It)
#26 Toilet Door With Another Door In It That Won’t Stay Closed
#27 My Bed At A Hotel I’m Staying In
#28 You Gotta Pay Attention On These Stairs In A Cinema
#29 Public Restrooms With Reflective Surfaces
#30 This Is Russia
#31 This Is The Logo For A “New York Style” Pizza Place In Ponce, Puerto Rico
#32 I Don’t Know Why Brown Strings Is A Welcoming Wallpaper To This Toilet Entrance. It Just Feels Gross And Unwelcoming. I Mean, This Is A Public Place
#33 These Restroom Stalls Have Translucent Doors
#34 This New Wall Art In My Office
#35 Upon Walking In This Bathroom At The Supermarket I Was Initially Disgusted At Filth And Lack Of Cleanliness Until A Closer Look Revealed It Was Designed This Way
#36 The Lobby Of This Medical Office Has An Alligator In The Floor
#37 Not Exactly The Color Pattern You Like To See In A Bathroom
#38 Love To Shutterstock See This Kind Of Stuff
#39 The Paint In This Public Restroom
#40 Sometimes People Use The Left Part
#41 The Decorations On This Hotel Restaurant
#42 This Poster In My School Cafeteria Is So Badly Designed They Put Arrows So You Can Read It Correctly
#43 I’m Sure This Mirror Sounded Cool In Theory
#44 Not Sure If This Belongs Here But In My Opinion This Is The Real Problem With America. It’s A Toilet Stall If You Were Wondering
#45 New Toilets At Work, Wonderful View On Our Interior Courtyard
#46 These Trash Cans At My School
#47 A Poster At My Mom’s Audiology Office
#48 I Had To Stop While Ordering Food At A Local Restaurant Because I Saw This Poster
#49 Went In To A Bathroom In Airport And Was Surprised With This. Almost Turned Towards Exit Before Realization
#50 Dentist Waiting Room
#51 I Can’t Tell If This Is Modern Architecture, Or If The Panera Is About To Cave In On Me
#52 This Is Not A Crime Scene, But A Hospital Hallway
#53 Two Different Restaurants. No Affiliation. Located Just Up Ahead
#54 The Carpet In My Hotel Makes Me Feel Drunk Without Having Even Had A Single Drink
#55 Working Spaces In An Office
#56 I’m Not Sure They Entirely Thought This Through
#57 Hey Dude Where’s My Car? I Think It’s On Yellow Man. Parking Garage Design At A Local Hospital
#58 All The Privacy You Need
#59 Found In A Newly Renovated Middle School
#60 Rusted Sink At Restaurant
#61 Escalator/Stairs Combo
#62 Found This Beauty At My Local College
#63 It’s Even Smaller In Person
#64 You’ve Seen Jorts, But Have You Ever Seen A Jillar
#65 New Staircase At My School
#66 The Way My School Installed The New Projector
#67 The Design On The Floor In The Bathroom At The Restaurant I’m At Right Now
#68 Russian Architecture
#69 This Image In The Restaurant Will Haunt Me Forever
#70 This “Public” Toilet On Gdansk Airport, Parking P6
#71 These Tiles At My School Canteen
#72 This ‘Coat Hook’ At The Airport Bathroom That Hinges And Drops Everything On The Floor
#73 What’s This Supposed To Say?
#74 This Mirrored Floor In A Public Restroom
This photo doesn’t make it that obvious, but – this was the stall next to me, and I took it while sitting on the adjacent toilet.
#75 This Store Trying To Have Everything 9 Related
#76 This Design At My University, The Classroom Is Inside Of The Bathroom, Nice
#77 This Damned Toiled
#78 This Sign In My Office Causes Me To Have A Small Existential Crisis Every Time I Pass It
#79 Hey High School Bulldog, Meet My High School Wildcat
#80 All Of The Hotel’s Hallway Lights Were Like This
#81 People Will Never Learn To Not Put Faces In Corners
#82 My Engineering Classroom
#83 Went To Go To The Bathroom At A Local Restaurant
#84 My School Library
#85 Brand New Apartments And Someone Thought This Was A Good Carpet Design But It Just Looks Like The Floor Is Rotting
#86 This Really “Artsy” Mirror At A Fancy Restaurant
#87 My Hotel Has A Sitting Area With No Possible Way To Access It
#88 This Washinton DC Whole Foods Restroom’s “Industrial” Design That Looks Like Someone Smeared Poop Everywhere
#89 The Smallest Handrail You’ve Ever Seen
#90 I Just Wanted To Use The Restroom
#91 This Chunk Of Stairs That Pokes Out Of The Wall At My Work
#92 This Floor At This Store Hurts Your Eyes As You Walk Around
#93 This Public Restroom Has Facing Toilets
#94 Yess, Milk
#95 A Urinal In Germany With A Full Length Mirror For Inspecting Other Dude’s Junk
#96 An Ad In My Local Mall
#97 “Aesthetic” Urinal Covers In Public Restroom Must Be Touched With Your Hands In Order To Open
#98 It’s The Time Most Of The Year Wonderful
#99 It Was Nice To Be Able To See I Don’t Have Anything On The Bottom Half Of My Shirt
#100 This Tile In The Bathroom At A Restaurant
#101 This Is What I Have To Look At While Eating At McDonald’s
#102 Pointless Stairs Found At The National Children’s Hospital
#103 Shark Cage Bathroom
#104 The Stairwell At My School
#105 You’ve Got A Window Office
#106 Men’s Room Door At A Local Hospital. I Had To Turn Sideways To Get In, I Am Not A Large Man
#107 Beautiful “Car Spa Pan” Board At The Italian Restaurant, I’ve Visited Yesterday
#108 Well, I Think We Can’t Escape This Way
#109 These Stairs Carpeted With A Pattern That Makes It Hard To See The Edge
#110 My Office Just Redid Their Stairs. The Blue Starts On The Floor In Front Of The Stairs. It Throws Me Off Every Time
#111 Carpet Design At My School That Looks Like Moss
#112 Three-Legged Table That My Boss Found And Put In My Office
#113 This Floor’s Tile Design Keeps Me Up At Night
#114 Ate At A Local Restaurant
#115 My School
#116 Local Pizza Place Cut A Hole In The Ceiling For The TV
#117 This Brand New Carpet In One Of My Customer’s Office Buildings That Looks Like It’s Covered In Mud
#118 Hallenge Ruup 4the
#119 Guy Is Being Cut In Half By The Design
#120 The Lift In This Building Is On Every Alternate Half-Level From Where The Doors To The Houses Are
#121 This Publicity In The Grocery Store I Work At
#122 This Sign At A Beauty Store
#123 Perfectly Placed Light At A Hotel
#124 How Am I Supposed To Sit Here
#125 This Door In The New Austin Public Library
#126 Great Place To Sit
#127 This Office Kitchen
#128 Found This Interestingly Placed Emergency Exit
#129 This Tiny Door
