Most of Rome's buildings that defined public spaces were meant for the living, such as plazas, baths, and arenas. In the East, however, public spaces were usually cemeteries. Pharaohs did not build pyramids solely for their own use; non-nobles, commoners, and livestock were also buried inside them.
In addition to underground palaces, Chinese imperial tombs also had vast aboveground structures for sacrificial rites. There were also large buildings for worshipping Heaven and Earth. Every year before the spring plowing, the emperor would lead the rites to Heaven, and the Altar of Land and Grain would also be used during enthronement ceremonies.
Rome's large public-service buildings often had a charitable nature. After wealthy people donated money, their names would be permanently recorded on visible stone inscriptions somewhere on the structure.
Those who built the structures belonged to the highest ranks of society, but those who used them did not necessarily do so. Gladiators might be slaves, forced to compete in the arena as part of the "entertainment" of Roman citizens.
Churches were also public places. In theory, they needed to be funded by public donations, but after the rise of the Papal States and taxation, the Church became even wealthier than the state. They could choose their own architects and make demands according to their own ideas, which was extremely disadvantageous to the Freemason Alliance.
Take Florence Cathedral, for example. Its world-famous octagonal dome was neither Baroque nor Gothic. The bishop of Florence had demanded that the architect Brunelleschi build it that way. The interior of the dome had no central support whatsoever, and the octagon was irregular, without any true center. At the time, many architects chose to refuse rather than take on the bishop—the client—and his wildly fanciful design.
The person who finally accepted the job, Brunelleschi, was neither