The hidden stairs in life

The hidden stairs in life

I think stairs can be one of the most emotionally sensitive body elements a builder should work with. A little something. Great idea. Basically, a ladder is a way to get from point A to point B at various heights. Stairs have a common language. Steps, which you walk on. Riser, which is a vertical feature that separates the two steps. Many stairs have nosings that form a kind of edge. And of course, the connected pieces are the stringer. 

Those pieces, in various ways, form all the stairs. I think the stairs started from when someone said, "I want to get to this high rock from the bottom rock." People came up using whatever was available: logs, stairs, and natural ways that were worn over time. Some of the first steps, such as the pyramids of Chichén Itzá or the roads leading to Mount Taiana in China, were the means of reaching the highest point, which people wanted to serve or protect. As engineering has evolved, so does the functionality. Stairs can be made of all kinds of material. There are straight stairs, there are sliding stairs. Stairs can be indoors, they can be outside. They obviously helped us in an emergency. But they are also a form of art in themselves. 

As we walk up the stairs, the form signifies our movement, our emotions, our security, and our relationships and engagement with the environment around us. So for a moment, imagine stepping down the stairs, as dignified as the one in front of the New York Public Library. From those stairs, you have a street view with all the people around you, and your walk is slower and more stable because the tread is much wider. That's a completely different experience than going down a small staircase to, say, an old pub, where you spill over into the room. There, you encounter a long awakening, so you move very quickly. 

Stairs add great drama. Consider how the stairs point to a large entrance and are the star of that moment. Stairs can be heroic. The stairs that remained standing after September 11 and the attack on the World Trade Center were called "Survivors' Staircase," because they played a major role in leading hundreds of people to safety. But small stairs can have a big impact, too. A stoop is a place that invites neighbors to gather, play music, and watch the city go by. I'm fascinated that you see people wanting to sit on the steps. I think they deeply fulfill the need for a human being who has to stay in space just beyond the plane of the earth. And then if you can sit halfway up there, you're kind of a magical place.