Potentially discriminating restaurant design

One well known roadside restaurant chain which I have often used since I have been a driver, has not been doing so well in recent times. Despite this they had a mixture of 4-8 seat tables for families, and two seat ones which I have felt comfortable to use. However, enter a well known TV chef and an appointed designer, the designers decide to have "communal tables" for those on their own, pictured:

This long table appears to have 9 seats each side, 18 in total. I would feel really uncomfortable with this, and my burning question is could this be seen as a discrimination against someone with Aspergers and similar who would feel discomfort at being made to sit at such a table? I'm sure that wasn't deliberately intented but have they really thought how someone with such a condition would find this intimidating? The chain's online news archive

Links to full article on Dezeen.com and the chain's archive, see the 'Big News' dated 28 November 2008.