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Staircases Climbing in Design EmphasisAs if finally discovering the central nervous system of a workspace, architects are busy making over a once-neglected office element: stairs.
No longer dank, utilitarian up-and-down passageways, stairs are moving to the center of attention as companies adapt their office environments to encourage chance meetings - and brainstorming - among employees.
Much like cafeterias and water coolers, "stairs have become an important communal space," said architect David Rockwell, of Rockwell Group, New York. "The stairs are a place for casual meetings, an extension of the door stoop. There is something aspirational about going up."
Also spurring the trend is a campaign among health officials to promote stair-climbing as a small, but meaningful way to increase physical activity. With obesity now the second-largest cause of death after smoking, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are pushing people to climb more.
At the same time, the American Institute of Architects has begun to encourage its members to design stairs that invite regular use.
The result, increasingly, is stunning, point-of-focus staircases, many that seem to float in mid-air and are bathed in natural light. But unlike ceremonial stairs, meant more for admiring than traversing, these steps - fashioned from sturdy metal, glass and concrete - are designed for more practical use.
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13/6/2004 | Viewed 6,392 time(s)
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