Funny,FailsJAN 21, 2025

40 Public Interior Design Fails So Atrocious, The People Behind Them Should Be Ashamed (New Pics)

Eglė Bliabaitė, Kornelija Viečaitė and Jonas Žvilius

Design is all about striking a balance between practicality and aesthetics. That sentiment is even more true for public spaces: functionality might trump the visuals of a space. Sadly, not every designer sticks to these core principles, hence why we sometimes get questionable but hilarious fails.

This time, we've put together a list of the most disappointing design decisions in public places that might have many of you asking: "Who came up with this?" Bathrooms with no doors, non-functioning recycling trashcans, seats with a blocked view, and other absurd fails await you down below!

#21 Men's Room Door At A Local Hospital. I Had To Turn Sideways To Get In, I Am Not A Large Man

Men's restroom door awkwardly placed with minimal space, depicting unfortunate public interior design.

reddit.com

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72points

A good public space should also have a place for people to gather around. That can be a food cart, some seating, or even a bus stop. The PPS gives the Parc de la Villette in Paris as a bad example; the seats force people to sit far away from each other, and the signs ask them not to climb the sculpture. A good gathering place should have food, activities, and lots of places to sit.

#22 The Nonsensical Placement Of These Lights In This Classroom

Ceiling with numerous lights, exemplifying unfortunate public interior designs, in a dimly lit room.

Fiftydollarvolvo

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72points

#23 My School Tried To Make The Staircase To The Cafeteria Accessible To Wheelchair Users

"Unfortunate public interior design with a sloped walkway beside stairs."

Tuomas_Kiituri

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72points

#24 No Need To Measure ... This Also Isn't A Installation Problem It Appears Multiple Times Throughout The University

Metallic box labeled "Design School" showcasing unfortunate interior design.

izzybee799

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71points

People decide if they want to enter a public space depending on its entrance. If it's narrow, not inviting, and you can't see what's inside, you likely won't want to come in. Bryant Park in New York City, for example, has coffee and sandwich kiosks at the entrance, making it that much more inviting. You can also see the inside of the park from the street, so you're more inclined to come in.

#25 This Clubs Toilets Have No Doors

Unfortunate public interior design in a restroom with awkwardly placed toilets, visible urinals, and graffiti-covered walls.

Kakazam

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69points

#26 This Stunning Mural Painted In My School Was Covered Up By Lockers Recently

Crow mural seemingly emerging from the top of mismatched yellow and gray lockers represents unfortunate interior design.

nottheeskimo

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69points

#27 “Shall We Cut The Wall Or Remove The Fan?” “No”

Ventilator obstructs emergency exit sign in public interior design fail.

godzillasfinger

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65points

There's much to be said about how car-dominant cities are nowadays. However, the experts at the PPS note that a good public space shouldn't be dominated by vehicles and traffic. Streets have to have crosswalks, and not be too wide, and people need to be able to cross them comfortably, even if they have to wait for a little while.

#28 This Bathroom Floor

Unfortunate public interior design with stained yellow floor and a gray trash bin in the corner.

joopy_boi

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64points

#29 This Is Apparently A Clean Wash Basin

Marble sink with unfortunate public interior design choice, featuring brown swirl patterns resembling dirt stains.

Won_dream

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64points

#30 This Ceiling Fan In My Classroom

Ceiling fan awkwardly placed on top of a mounted projector, showcasing unfortunate interior design.

ErrorACOGNotFound

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61points

What public design features get a rise out of you most, Pandas? Do you see any of them on this list? Share your thoughts on public space design with us in the comments! And while you're here, don't forget to check out our previous posts about questionable design choices for communal spaces here, here, and here!