Service of What Architects Have Learned and Not
August 10th, 2026
Categories: Architects, Architecture, Elevators, Inconvenience, Restaurant, Sloppy
When it comes to ladies’ rooms, women are lucky today. Architects responsible for public spaces such as movie houses or theaters put in a generous lineup of stalls. In the old days before and after a show the line for the one or two was a sin. For a reminder of the old days, visit older Broadway theaters and concert halls.
In another example of smart change I saw construction workers painting the roof of an adjacent building bright white [Photo above]. In the day I lived in a wonderful apartment in Brooklyn Heights with working fireplace, skylight in one of two bathrooms, two bedrooms, a dining room and a view of the East River from the kitchen window. In summer the place was a caldron because it was on the top floor under a black tar roof. We offered to paint it and buy the pain, but the landlord refused to let us.
Nevertheless, these days, I sometimes wonder where the architect or product designer has been or the contractor or business owner overseeing a project.
In the lobby of a major NYC medical facility is an elevator call board that is confusing enough to require instruction arrows for up and down. [Photo right.]
The layout of the floor selection board in my apartment’s elevators confounds many of us. [Photo below.] It can take a nanosecond or two to find the floor of a package laden neighbor.
A neighborhood coffee shop that doesn’t want to pay to change the step in to a ramp. It tells wheelchair bound customers to ring a bell [that doesn’t work] or to inquire within for assistance. And how will this person manage that?
A block from me is an apartment building that spans from 39th to 40th streets on Second Avenue that for at least five years has paid for scaffolding. The architect in charge isn’t on top of the project. It’s great for pedestrians on snowy or rainy days but the cost must put a big dent in the building’s maintenance budget. I once lived in a poorly managed co-op, but we put a stop to the scaffolding snafu soon enough.
Have you noticed wonderful changes or glitch decisions by architects, business owners or product designers?
RE: ladies’ rooms. You’re very kind to call the changes lucky. I call it good business. I know a father who “lost” his daughter in a medical complex bathroom because she wasn’t strong enough to open the 2 sets of heavy doors to get out of the women’s room and he couldn’t hear her crying. He had to send strangers in to look for her. He was frantic, hoping the bathroom didn’t have the same set up as in a theater where he’d “lost” his wife recently–where there were two doors out of sight of each other. I remember a work friend who was planning his wedding at a historic steakhouse which was run by men. Only male waiters there. He knew I’d been to a wedding there and asked what I thought. It was wonderful except for one big problem. The men’s room was on the same floor as the reception but the women had to walk down several steps. It wasn’t enough that there was a long line once we got there but we had to descend several steps in our high heels to get there. My friend told the manager who then switched the signs on the bathrooms. Recently I went to a wedding in a barn where there were two self contained single-person all gender bathrooms. So we had 2 short lines rather than one long line. Good for everyone. I remember years ago taking my wheelchair-bound father on a plane. Which bathroom in the airport was I supposed to take him to? A few years ago I met a single mother who was worrying about what to do when her son got older and didn’t want to go into the women’s room with her. I told her about local businesses that had family bathrooms. Problem solved.
Nancy,
I have theater going friends who make more pit stops than average and they continue to attend Broadway shows in spite of the appalling bathroom setup for women. Men are getting used to sharing their bathrooms with women who don’t want to miss the first act.
Love the idea of family bathrooms. I remember my mother mentioning her concern about letting one of her nephews go alone to the men’s room. This cousin is a grandfather today. We haven’t solved this yet? Geesh.
Horrific story about the child trapped in the medical facility’s bathroom. The architect should lose her/his license.
Jeanne: My father always advised me to live in a home for at least a year before making changes and I think he was right. When I moved into a century-old space it had a heated sunroom with walls of windows on 3 sides. It had a funny shape, as it was very narrow in some spots. Was it old-fashioned looking? Absolutely. Did I appreciate later how practical it was when I was on bedrest for over 4 months? Absolutely. It was the only time I was able to feel the sun on my face during that time except when I went to doctor appointments. It was absolute genius!
Nancy,
Your dad was so smart and so right!
Is there anything more devastating than the several high-rise buildings in Manhattan that were collapsing in the middle endangering people in floors above and below as well as workers trying to stabilize them and anyone within the area that debris might have spread if they collapsed? What about the large primary care Jen Cneter at Brigham and Women’s hospital that has one restroom right inside the entrance of the long, fairly narrow corridor that leads to the multiple practices served by the Center. What can those responsible have been thinking?
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Martha,
Money led to cutting corners and lack of oversight in both instances. Excellent, if sad, examples of architects and contractors who should be forced to make a living in other industries.