Why are public bathrooms designed so poorly? (Devan Design Week)
Devan Design Week is back!
DevHeads,
Devan Design Week is BACK by popular demand. For Devan Design Week II, we’re going deep on bathrooms. We’ll explore why hotels are getting rid of bathroom doors and walls, the movement to Bring Back Doors, whether bathroom sensors are actually racist, and if they’re better for the environment and cleaner. Finally, we’ll rank our favorite and least favorite bathroom locks.
(Apple, Spotify, YouTube, Others)
Our guests this week are:
Sadie from Bring Back Doors
Katie Deighton from The Wall Street Journal, who reported on hotels removing bathroom doors earlier this year
Charlotte Gartenberg from the upcoming podcast Welcome to the Bathroom
Julia Lindsay, lock aficionado
ICYMI listen to Devan Design Week I (Tesla door handles, microwave buttons, modern-day couches)
Tag us in your favorite and least favorite bathroom locks on Instagram (@nosuchthing.show).
Have a question you want us to answer? Email us at mannynoahdevan@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at (860) 325-0286
If you like the show, drop us a five-star review wherever you listen to podcasts, and share with a friend, family member, coworker, neighbor, mail deliverer, and/or roommate. It really helps a lot!
Public restrooms are also outrageously loud, between the automatic flushes and the hand dryers. I have a toddler whom we just finished potty training and then took a road trip. She was so thoroughly terrified of the various jet engine level bathroom sounds that we had to specifically search for gas stations with small, single stall bathrooms or she wouldn’t go. She’s certainly more sensitive than your average grownup but she’s not wrong—they are SO unpleasantly noisy! Another reason to go back to paper towels.
1. In the ladies' room, there is often a small container placed on the wall or on the floor for disposal of menstrual products. These receptacles are almost universally placed behind your line of sight. I understand why the one on the floor might be tucked in behind the commode - so that we aren't tripping on it. But the ones in the walls? They have lids, so it's not that they don't want to gross you out by having to look at them. The lids only make it worse, because you're trying to dispose of this bloody detritus by reaching behind yourself, and with one hand both open the lid and carefully insert the items while seated on the pot. Why???!! Why not put it in front of your line of sight where you could use both hands and see what you're doing?
2. I once asked some male friends what kinds of notices were posted in the public men's rooms. They mentioned ads, "wash your hands", etc. Apparently, men's rooms don't have signage like ladies' rooms. Ours say "Are you being trafficked? If so, call...", "If he's hitting you, here's a number to call for help", "If you are afraid of anyone in this bar, the signal you should give the bartender is...". I thought that maybe in men's rooms there would be signs saying "Have you hit your girlfriend? That's not OK. Get help here..." or "3 Signs you might be a sex pest", or "Our bartender is watching for men who roofie and will call the police". If we know there is enough of a problem to post the signs in the ladies' room, why aren't we posting these signs in the men's rooms?