Has it ever struck you that architects continually design features into buildings that people who use their buildings continually ignore? For example:
- Architects continue to make men's and women's bathrooms the same size. It makes for a nice symmetry in plan, but women take longer, so you always find long lines of women outside their bathroom, while men zip in and out. This has been going on for a long time! Come on, architects, wake up!
- Architects always seem to think their interior spaces will remain as immaculate as they are on the day the last coat of paint is applied. But virtually every interior space occupied by humans -- especially office and work spaces -- are covered with pieces of paper, affixed to painted walls with tacks or tape. Why don't architects design shared spaces with some kind of surface treatment designed to accept attached documents?
- Architects generally put double doors as the main entrance to any public space. But have you noticed how often the occupants of that space open only one door and leave the other on locked? OK, I would have to fault the users in this case, but why do they do that? Do they think they are saving "wear and tear" on the bolted door? Do they enjoy watching people yank at one door, feel the frustration, and then open the other one? If people are going to behave like this, maybe there is some design approach that would make this practice seem normal or expected.
Anyone else out there have any architectural pet peeves?
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