A building’s back entrance often tells a different story about dignity than its lobby.

The lobby is designed for the people the building wants to impress. The back entrance is where the staff, the deliveries, and the waste go, and it usually shows exactly how much thought was given to the people who keep the place running. The gap between the two is the building’s real statement.

Have a look at the staff entrance of somewhere you go often. It tells you more about the organisation than anything in the reception area. And if you are ever responsible for such a space, that door is a cheap and unmistakable place to show what you actually think.