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It's funny that he got his start in design after being frustrated with UK appliances. As a recent UK immigrant I concur that the UK has the strangest and least

It's funny that he got his start in design after being frustrated with UK appliances. As a recent UK immigrant I concur that the UK has the strangest and least intuitive designs for everything from doors (weird button off on the wall to unlock from the inside) to plumbing and heating appliances that I've seen anywhere. I do like the outlet switches though :D.

btbuildem 5y ago
Those two-faucet sinks are just the absolute worst.
mavhc 5y ago
Doors with a button off to the side to unlock? Are these ones with fobs to open from the other side? What's up with the plumbing and heating?
- Maxburn 5y ago
  Generally security doors. Button or motion sensor on the inside to unlock it and exit. Probably a keycard on the other side to get in.
- jozvolskyef 5y ago
  > Doors with a button off to the side to unlock? It is often power assisted doors that have a button on the side. The button can be difficult to notice, among other reasons because it is low in order to be reachable by wheelchair users.
  - mavhc 5y ago
    But is this a typically British thing?
- quintushoratius 5y ago
  > What's up with the plumbing and heating? Not sure if this is what GP meant, but Britain has a history of using separate taps for hot and cold water, rather than a single tap that mixes hot and cold to give you a range of temperatures. Fine if you're filling a basin, not very good for anything else.
  - mavhc 5y ago
    Pretty obvious from a UI perspective though (except for the trend of labelling the taps with approx 1 molecule of red or blue ink)
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - FabHK 5y ago
    > separate taps for hot and cold water More precisely: boiling hot and ice cold.
falcolas 5y ago
The company I worked for had these in their London office. Bonus inaccessibility points - the button was located below the fire alarm button, out of easy reach for 6' folks. Predicting the outcome of this is trivially easy.
- noneeeed 5y ago
  I hate that layout, it is far too common. I've lost count of the number of times where I've almost pushed the fire alarm point.
noneeeed 5y ago
For the interior unlocking button, how are these implemented where you've come from? I assume you are referring to security doors with fob entry on the outside and massive magnets at the top that hold the doors locked?
- mcpherrinm 5y ago
  There are three ways: either an electromagnet holding the door closed directly, or an electronic strike plate that allows the door latch out, or the latch on the door itself is electronic. My apartment has the electromagnet directly holding the door, which I think is because it’s a double door, but I think for single doors, the electronic strike plate is the most common.
FabHK 5y ago
Having said that, I find those round door knobs (as prevalent in the US) terrible though: a) hard to operate when you carry something or have dirty/wet/greasy hands, as you have to hold it tight and twist. a') hard to operate for people with arthritis, children, etc. a'') knobs seem optimised to spread germs as efficiently as possible. A door handle/lever (like in Europe) you can push open with your elbow, or the back of the hand, or anything really. b) with the design that uses a push button to lock, you cannot check whether the door is actually locked, because attempting to do so is exactly what unlocks the door. With a separate locking mechanism, you can lock and then confirm that the door is locked. But, yeah, UK appliances are remarkably bad (or, at least, were, when I was there decades ago).
- cratermoon 5y ago
  I'm seeing fewer round doorknobs in public buildings and multifamily housing in the US because of codes and standards around accessibility.
  - FabHK 5y ago
    Oh, nice. (Last time I was in the US for an extended period, G. W. Bush was president.)
- _carbyau_ 5y ago
  Everything you say is correct. And yet there are still reasons to use round knob door handles at least some of the time. I have zero experience on how big a deal this really is but someone seems to think so: https://www.doorstuff.co.uk/blog/canadian-bears-vs-door-handles/ https://www.doorstuff.co.uk/blog/canadian-bears-vs-door-hand...
  - FabHK 5y ago
    Ha, fair enough. If bears or velociraptors are a factor, stick with door knobs by all means :-)
  - jet_32951 5y ago
    Can confirm, codes in several California counties forbid lever-type handles on exterior doors because bears learned to open them. However, bears being adaptable, some of them have learned to operate round doorknobs too: https://www.upliftingtoday.com/2018/12/black-bear-makes-surprise-office-visit-to-california-highway-patrol-department/ https://www.upliftingtoday.com/2018/12/black-bear-makes-surp...

btbuildem 5y ago

Those two-faucet sinks are just the absolute worst.

mavhc 5y ago

Doors with a button off to the side to unlock? Are these ones with fobs to open from the other side? What's up with the plumbing and heating?

Maxburn 5y ago
Generally security doors. Button or motion sensor on the inside to unlock it and exit. Probably a keycard on the other side to get in.
jozvolskyef 5y ago
> Doors with a button off to the side to unlock? It is often power assisted doors that have a button on the side. The button can be difficult to notice, among other reasons because it is low in order to be reachable by wheelchair users.
- mavhc 5y ago
  But is this a typically British thing?
quintushoratius 5y ago
> What's up with the plumbing and heating? Not sure if this is what GP meant, but Britain has a history of using separate taps for hot and cold water, rather than a single tap that mixes hot and cold to give you a range of temperatures. Fine if you're filling a basin, not very good for anything else.
- mavhc 5y ago
  Pretty obvious from a UI perspective though (except for the trend of labelling the taps with approx 1 molecule of red or blue ink)
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- FabHK 5y ago
  > separate taps for hot and cold water More precisely: boiling hot and ice cold.

falcolas 5y ago

The company I worked for had these in their London office. Bonus inaccessibility points - the button was located below the fire alarm button, out of easy reach for 6' folks. Predicting the outcome of this is trivially easy.

noneeeed 5y ago
I hate that layout, it is far too common. I've lost count of the number of times where I've almost pushed the fire alarm point.

noneeeed 5y ago

For the interior unlocking button, how are these implemented where you've come from? I assume you are referring to security doors with fob entry on the outside and massive magnets at the top that hold the doors locked?

mcpherrinm 5y ago
There are three ways: either an electromagnet holding the door closed directly, or an electronic strike plate that allows the door latch out, or the latch on the door itself is electronic. My apartment has the electromagnet directly holding the door, which I think is because it’s a double door, but I think for single doors, the electronic strike plate is the most common.

FabHK 5y ago

Having said that, I find those round door knobs (as prevalent in the US) terrible though: a) hard to operate when you carry something or have dirty/wet/greasy hands, as you have to hold it tight and twist. a') hard to operate for people with arthritis, children, etc. a'') knobs seem optimised to spread germs as efficiently as possible. A door handle/lever (like in Europe) you can push open with your elbow, or the back of the hand, or anything really. b) with the design that uses a push button to lock, you cannot check whether the door is actually locked, because attempting to do so is exactly what unlocks the door. With a separate locking mechanism, you can lock and then confirm that the door is locked. But, yeah, UK appliances are remarkably bad (or, at least, were, when I was there decades ago).

cratermoon 5y ago
I'm seeing fewer round doorknobs in public buildings and multifamily housing in the US because of codes and standards around accessibility.
- FabHK 5y ago
  Oh, nice. (Last time I was in the US for an extended period, G. W. Bush was president.)
_carbyau_ 5y ago
Everything you say is correct. And yet there are still reasons to use round knob door handles at least some of the time. I have zero experience on how big a deal this really is but someone seems to think so: https://www.doorstuff.co.uk/blog/canadian-bears-vs-door-handles/ https://www.doorstuff.co.uk/blog/canadian-bears-vs-door-hand...
- FabHK 5y ago
  Ha, fair enough. If bears or velociraptors are a factor, stick with door knobs by all means :-)
- jet_32951 5y ago
  Can confirm, codes in several California counties forbid lever-type handles on exterior doors because bears learned to open them. However, bears being adaptable, some of them have learned to operate round doorknobs too: https://www.upliftingtoday.com/2018/12/black-bear-makes-surprise-office-visit-to-california-highway-patrol-department/ https://www.upliftingtoday.com/2018/12/black-bear-makes-surp...