Design
The Case for Prettier Staircases
Why health advocates are urging planners and architects to think more seriously about stairs.
Staircases, as the architect Eva Jiricna writes in her book of the same title, are the products of the culture from which they spring, “reflecting the prevailing philosophies and symbolic languages, unveiling the talent and ingenuity of those who have created them.”
So what does the sad state of the modern office and apartment building staircase say about us? As the Urban Land Institute notes in a new report aimed at real estate developers [PDF], “over time, stairs have been relegated to the back corner of buildings.” Windowless cinderblock, fluorescent lighting: It’s a sad state of affairs in the stairwells of America.