Empathy, good taste, self-awareness, and the ability to think ahead and follow through on your plans are all vital skills for architects, urban planners, contractors, surveyors, engineers, and designers. But unfortunately, some ‘professionals’ are lacking in all of these fields. And this leads to less-than-perfect cities and homes that are real eyesores.
The popular ‘[Bad] Planning’ account on X is a celebration of all the awful stuff “imposed on our environment.” We’ve collected some of the biggest, most recent architectural and design planning fails to make your inner builder gasp and cringe. Scroll down for a crash course in what not to do if you’re ever tasked with building something.
#1 Sounds Fun!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#2 That Looks Much Better!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#3 Holding Out
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
Your designs have to be as clear as possible. The less ambiguity there is, the easier it is for everyone, from the architect to the contractors, to build something great and make their clients happy. This means that, as a designer, if you want your project to be of stellar quality, you have to put in a ton of effort to keep everyone involved in the project on the same page.
A big part of your responsibility as a designer is taking the time and energy to expand your knowledge, learning about materials, manufacturing processes, and keeping in mind any potential challenges that can happen during the planning and building process. If you can spot these problems ahead of time, you’re saving yourself a lot of money, avoiding headaches, and maintaining a good reputation. And if you’re up-to-date with the latest trends, you’re at an advantage.
#4 When You're A Tram Driver, And Your Employer Says You've Got To Work From Home
Image credits: Northern_Travel
#5 I Can See Clearly Now!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#6 This Charming Shopfront In Camden Passage Has Been Ripped Out And Replaced With Grey Upvc Cladding And A Roller Shutter. You Guessed It... Without Planning Permission
Image credits: josephkazUK
Of course, let’s not be naive. No matter how talented and experienced you are, you can’t control every tiny little detail of the building process. Someone, somewhere, will mess up at some point in time. Maybe someone misinterprets your plans. Maybe someone else decides to cut corners, or they’re not as skilled at their job as they let on. You have to be flexible, adaptable, and react to (unpleasant) surprises.
Though your sharp mind and insights are fundamental to your job as a designer or architect, you can’t ignore your people skills either. At the end of the day, the entire project is a team effort. And if you constantly mismanage and mistreat your contractors, it’ll affect the final result. You have to treat everyone you work with with the respect they deserve, and communicate well.
#7 You Ain’t Seen Me, Right!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#8 You Can’t Plant That There Mate!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#9 Tarmageddon!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
Though your sense of taste can be very subjective, people can usually intuitively tell if something has been designed well or not.
Truly good design is empathetic and takes the consumer’s wants and needs into account, whether you’re talking about the building you live in or a product you’re considering buying.
#10 Quite Possibly The Most Depressing Garden I Have Ever Seen - As If The Parents In Their Spotless Marble Perfect House Had To Make One Tiny Concession To The Children And Created The Smallest Saddest Patch Of Fun Possible
Image credits: ianvisits
#11 Offencive!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#12
Image credits: MjTurner_
As legendary designer Dieter Rams noted, good design is innovative, makes the product useful, and is aesthetic.
Truly good designs are also understandable, unobtrusive, honest, long-lasting, and environmentally-friendly.
They must also be thorough down to the last detail and, ironically, as little designed as possible.
You’re supposed to do away with non-essential details and concentrate on the main aspects of whatever it is you’re designing.
#13 Who Needs Trees And All That Green Nonsense!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#14 New Housing In The Ponds, In Western Sydney
Image credits: hidflect
#15 Corridoors!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
According to Planetizen, one of the biggest issues with urban planning recently is the lack of adequate infrastructure for pedestrians.
Another widespread problem is the danger that construction sites pose to passersby, potentially leading to injury or worse.
Not to mention that poor urban planning negatively affects women’s safety.
#16 Breaking News: Contract For Crooked House Rebuild Goes To Taylor Wimpey!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#17 Guilty Of Multiple Offences!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#18 British Housing At Its Finest - Setting, Scale, Landscape, Proportion, Details, And Finesse All Completely Absent!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
“For example, the rise of sprawling urban suburbs often means a single mother lives and works too far away from where her child attends school. Poorly maintained parks become hotspots for crime, meaning women may not feel safe going there alone. It's a similar story for entertainment and nightlife districts. Many get developed under the assumption women will go there with male partners, and not unaccompanied.”
#19 Rest And Enjoy The View!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#20
So... had laminate flooring laid in the bathroom.. removed the toilet to get the floor laid properly.. a couple of hours later.. the carpet fitter come and laid a new carpet in the next room we come home and I moved the toilet to find this !!!! ...
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#21 This Weeks Nerdy Fascination Has Been House Doors On Buses. Didn’t Know This Was Even A Thing
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
What’s more, today’s cities aren’t as inclusive as they can be, even as they become more advanced and high-tech.
“The development process often does not include enough input from disabled people themselves. The people responsible for making city improvements might get feedback from an area's residents, but there's no guarantee that the studied segment includes the voices of people with disabilities. For example, a touch-sensitive screen for bus ticket sales might seem high-tech, but can wheelchair users with fine-motor difficulties use it?” Planetizen muses.
#22 We Want A More Modern Look … Yes A Small Municipal Crematorium Would Be Fine!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#23 Happy Bright, Shiny, Stick-On, Grey, Plastic, New Year Everyone!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#24 Mehbanism!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
The ‘[Bad] Planning’ project has been around for over 6 years. Created in mid-2019, it continues to share photos of some of the most awful things “perpetrated by architects, planners, surveyors, engineers, and other environmental ne’er do wells.”
Currently, 136.5k internet users follow the architecture-shaming account whose curator isn’t afraid of calling things as they see them.
#25 What You Doing With That Bit Left Over
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#26 Some People Just Want To See The World Burn!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#27 Room Without A View!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
Which of these planning fails annoyed you the most, Pandas? What is the very worst case of urban planning that you’ve personally witnessed?
If you had an unlimited budget and power, what would you change about your neighborhood and town in terms of design? Grab a snack and tell us what you think in the comments.
#28 "I’ve Got A Mate Who’ll Knock That Up For Half The Price!"
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#29 Summerhouse With Views!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#30 Some People Just Like To Watch The World Burn!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#31 Can't Believe Someone Did This To The Art Deco Building On Commercial Street. Who Paints Portland Stone?
Image credits: Pott_Shrigley_
#32 What Vent!!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#33 Did You Ever Think You'd See The Day ? The Mysterious Steps Of Lawn. Manchester
Image credits: dhulston
#34 Offf!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#35 Angel Square Islington, Before And After. The Previous Building Wasn’t Perfect, But With Upgrading And An Activated Street Frontage, It Had More To Give
Image credits: OliMarshall85
#36 Having Delivered The Building But Left The Trailer Unit It Came On Behind!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#37 Hmm
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#38 Fully Skateboard Accessible!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#39
Image credits: createstreets
#40 Can We Have All The Things!
Image credits: PlanningS*it
#41 The Rules Of Second Floor Club Are That You Do Not Talk About What Happens In Second Floor Club
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#42 The Bulls [butt]!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#43 Those Bollards Should Keep Their Car Secure
Image credits: drhingram
#44 There Are Levels!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#45 Stage Set Architecture
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#46
Image credits: mitchellsnik
#47
Image credits: Camp4
#48 Getting Strong Gp Surgery Vibes From This House!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#49
Image credits: piotrbarycki
#50 Impediment!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#51 Blandscaping!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#52 Responds Positively To Its Historic Context!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#53 What The Actual Hell
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#54 When Cars And Bin Lorries Are Your Primary Design Consideration
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#55 Signed, Sealed And Delivered!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#56 Timber Effect!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#57
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#58 Don’t You Just Love A Bit Of Detailing!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#59 Placement!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#60 Somethings Off!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#61 Before And Hereafter! Grade II Listed!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#62 The Porch Comes With A Small House Extension To The Rear!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#63 Wildlife vs. Wildstrife!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#64 What Fresh Hell Is This!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#65 Cut And Paste Streetscape!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#66
Image credits: PhilipThalis
#67
Image credits: Urban__Designer
#68 1666: Imagine The Wonderful Doors That Will Adorn This Entrance In Its 350+ Yr Lifespan 2024:
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
#69 Wolverhampton School Of Art Is Under Threat!
Designed by Diamond, Redfern & Partners (1966-70), the nine-storey Art School block has been earmarked for potential redevelopment by Wolverhampton University. Behind the striking sculptural concrete ‘exoskeleton’, the building remains in its original use and has abundant potential for sympathetic modernisation. Demolition would be wasteful, irresponsible, and anti-growth. C20 Society has submitted a listing application, and local campaigners have started a petition to save it.
Image credits: C20Society
#70 Local Vindictiveness!
Image credits: PlanningSh*t
