Stairs That Really Go Someplace

"In most buildings... ...stairs are purely functional features... ...they don't really make you think."

Pardon me for being blunt, but... "make you think"? Is that really what you want to emphasize in a stair? As one walks up and down a stair you want to think about how you're stepping... if the stair is safe for you, your children and/or guests to use, or perhaps the stair design is one which creates anxiety, or at the very least uneasiness when used... even viewed?

The idea that everything in a home has to make a unique statement is problematic. When everything is attempting to make a statement, or given "more vision", the combined effect only serves to weaken the whole.

Academia and the editorial opinions of "experts" (many large circulation papers as well as design websites has one or more these) suggest design is best handled by employing tactics (cliches) such as "thinking out of the box", or general statements such as the open-ended "be creative", without properly addressing the need for a balanced and tempered approach. Subtlety seems an under-appreciated quality for far too long. In reality, most often, only the several well-scaled, properly located details are all that's required to adequately address a given architectural element.

Too often, architects/designers are most concerned without creating mini-monuments to their "creative vision", or being able to suggest "they're breaking new ground", when instead they're creating 10-sided wheels, or employing every gimmick available which results in the "Grand Am" car effect... you know, where one tacks on "ornamentation" to jazz up something that's fundamentally lacking.

If architects/designers want to be valued more than they are today, work must go beyond "being creative". Most everyday people feel they are "creative", and rightfully so in some way, shape or form. It must be clear that part of what our expertise provides is how, when and why creativity is employed... it's proper use. This is what separates the studied professional from the public. Extravagant, "out of the box" gestures don't address this... which is why the architecture/design professions' work has not and will continue to not be afforded the same respect as other professions (dentists, lawyers, engineers, etc). After all, how many times do you think a "client" walks into the dentist office and suggests a manner in which the dental work should be completed? Now, how often does the architect's or designer's client suggest design-related ideas.? What if most in our professions were able to present/address their work from a principled, studied perspective... verse... the "look at how cool this is" approach... ?

That's my 2 pennies worth.

I should note, my comments apply to select photos of stairs posted... not all. I think it will be fairly clear which ones I'm referencing, and I don't want to be more specific.

Mouse design on stairs