Great Design

I work in a building which could not have been worse designed for its purpose. People approach the site down a road and are halted at a barrier. One of our jobs is to check who they are and what they want, and then let them in or redirect them as appropriate. From the office, a window looks up the access road, but there is an electronic sign built right in the line of sight. If a car arrives at the barrier, there is no sign it is there apart from the noise of the engine. To see whether there is a car there, it is necessary either to climb on a chair and look out of a tiny high window, or leave the office and walk the length of the building to get a view out of the main window. There is a CCTV camera, but it looks down (not up) the road so that we can see the cars we have let through, but not those that are arriving. The design of the building probably doubles the work of simply managing and controlling access to the site.

But the jewel in the crown of stupidity is the design of the windows themselves. They are meant to open inwards, but pillars holding up the roof are so close to the opening lights that you can only open them an inch.

Closed ...



... and open.



This one blocks two windows, quite an achievement.



Ah, some fresh air.



This building was purpose-built and designed by specialists employed by one of the biggest construction companies in the UK. Remember that when anyone tells you they are an expert.