21 Engineering and Design Failures

Designing or building something on a large scale is truly daunting. Any slip-up of measurements or crucial details will result in a poorly designed structure that can even pose a safety hazard. Let’s look at 21 engineering and design failures that truly showcase human engineering at its worst!

1. The offset column

Civil engineers, please take note, If you need an example on how not to build a column, here is it! The column should be ideally centered to the weight that it supports, but the contractor clearly had other ideas.

2. The Elephant with Horse’s legs

This picture just screams instability! Having that much load on a smaller base is something you should never do. This building was meant to be an engineering department in a college, but thankfully, it was declared derelict after it was completed. What a waste of time and money!

3. The roundabout of useless

We have done a perfect job till now, why mess it up with a random patch of grass? We guess this was the same thought process that went through the mind of the contractor.  A perfect way to mess up a perfectly laid out space.

4. The unstable cantilever

What you see here is the remains of what used to be a new mall in Mexico City – The Artz Pedregal. The collapsed part was constructed in a cantilevered orientation before its demise. The reason for such a collapse can either be a bad design or subsoil slides.

5. Just hanging out on the road

When you pay no attention to measurements or tolerances, you end up with a pillar that hangs over a pavement. People with OCD, please do not look at it for extended periods.

6. The stairway of death

If the building catches fire, no problem, you just have to use the fire exit and maneuver your way through a million live electric lines. Yes, the design gives you the opportunity to choose between fire and electricity, very thoughtful design right?

7. Keeping the Sun out

How about a window that it almost covered by the terrace? It certainly protects you from all the harmful sun rays and splashes healthy amounts of water to your window when it rains.

8. Why quality checks pay off?

Cranes or machine that operates at an elevation must be secured and weighed in properly before conducting any sort of operation. In this video, we can see how the shackle snaps and the whole crane getting destabilized. Checking hardware for quality issues prior to operation is a must to prevent such accidents.

9. The raining roof

This happened at the Nanchang Airport in China, and it shows how disaster strikes where you least expect it. Thankfully, the falling roof didn’t injure anyone. However, things might not have been that fortunate if the place was crowded.

10. Keep intruders out, unless they know how to climb

When you design something like a security gate so that no one can get through it, make sure you don’t actually end up designing a ladder that will enable intruders to climb over it. This design surely favors the crooked!

11. Engaging self-destruction

When a device is not built to withstand its own abuse, you get something like this – a drier that can melt its own plastic casing. Kudos to the person who was in charge of material choice.

12. Not all are made equal

There is a reason why spacers in stairs are made in equal lengths because otherwise, people will trip over them as we climb steps with muscle memory. But here, no attention is paid towards such measures, and this is why we see people tripping on that unusually tall step.

13. The moot point

This screwdriver takes another screwdriver to open. No, you cannot buy another screwdriver for this as you will end up with two screwdrivers that have the same problem.

14. The cloud door

Yes, a door just like we see in the cartoons! Open it up, walk straight through and you are looking at a day in the hospital bedroom!

15. The leap of faith

We are yet to figure out what is more dangerous, fighting for your life in the event of a fire breakout or jumping off a poorly designed railing in that same event.

16. Strive for greater heights

Putting up soap dispensers at a height that no one can reach is a great way to fend off soap wastage.

17. The staircase to nowhere

We cannot confirm this as a design failure because clearly, there is a possibility that this can be the wall towards Hogwarts. The only way to confirm is to run straight into it.

18. The Wall

Here is another picture where we can see the incredible effort given towards maintaining safety. We hope everyone will follow the etiquette by only entering through this gate, which has spikes over it in case anyone tries to jump over it.

19. The head turner

Keep your kids far away from merry go rounds built straight under a structure. It’s unsafe in more ways than you can imagine.

20. When your security camera is too shy

We can conclude that watching surveillance tapes of this camera won’t do you any good!

21. Because they can!

Building a balcony that is not accessible through the building, and you ask why it has been built like that? Because they can!

Fascinating right? We might tout ourselves to be creators and inventors, but mistakes can happen to anyone. However, make sure you think your next through before going at it, or we will add it to our list!