Stairs can be fascinating but also extremely treacherous: it is no coincidence that where there is a staircase there is also a handrail when needed. Stairs, before being designed for the aesthetic value they can bring to buildings, are designed for their utility. What are the places they connect? What is the effort required to mount them? How wide are the steps? We are so used to going down and up the stairs that we often don’t pay attention to how they were built.
But there are stairs that do not go unnoticed, and we don’t just say it for good: in addition to stairs with interwoven handrails, elaborate marble, and elegant surfaces, there are stairs that make us doubt the lucidity of their designers. Some lead nowhere: while going up the steps, you find yourself in front of a wall; others have steps that are too high; still others have a sneaky carpet that does not let you know where you are stepping. We’ve selected 15 examples of stairs that have left people who were lucky (or unlucky?) Lucky enough to face them in awe.
#1. Stiff and tough: where do your feet fall?
image credit: Incomexico/Facebook
#2. We do not understand where one step ends and the other begins.
image credit: BurgerVonStadt/twitter
#3. A structure divided in two: why?
image credit: adynako/reddit
#4. Here you have to climb so as not to trip.
image credit: meesterintrappen.nl/pinterest
#5. Very design but what about practicality?
image credit: Cyreniac/reddit
It looks good, but we didn’t quite understand how to set foot: maybe first on the left?
#6. The last step from above is not even visible.
image credit: shortround10/reddit
Wasn’t it possible to put carpet, or some other sign, on the last step?
#7. Exactly as it was designed, right?
image credit: MenacingBanjo/reddit
#8. It seems that there is another step.
image credit: Landash/reddit
The person who took this photo claimed it was about to fall.
#9. Was it put there for good weather?
image credit: Man Sand/reddit
We wonder if this staircase has already been used or if it is there to provoke questions from passers-by.
#10. And this one, where does it lead?
image credit: vitor_k890/reddit
#11. Aesthetically between the poetic and the disturbing.
image credit: rileyjw90/reddit
#12. It takes long legs to ride it.
image credit: paulcbel/reddit
Children prohibited!
#13. The stairs leading straight up to the wall have a certain charm.
image credit: mmjj2007/reddit
We wonder if the staircase was designed first or if it is the wall. Either way, there is something wrong.
#14. The eyes of those who watch these steps have tilted.
image credit: buxx/reddit
#15. Between the thrill of risk and design.
image credit: meddios.com/pinterest
After seeing these photos, we’re sure you’ll look at the stairs differently and make informed choices!