"This Is Stairs" isn't actually about stairs at all. It's about a shift in perspective, for the spaces we pass along day after day. Our team was allotted a double wide sidewalk that lived beneath an obtuse state owned transit building. An entire city block of wall and sidewalk, or, as we found, 'a desert to traverse as quickly as possible.' There were two geographic features that stood out to us: the sidewalk itself in its scale, and a brutalist covered staircase that appeared to live on the side of the building.
This space, as empty canvas, provided endless opportunities for design intervention. Yet, what the space was really about was traversing across it. We wanted to provide a choice to play. A distilled maze was our offering, but only articulating the transition points where we would change direction. At no point is the traveler locked in to a maze, but constantly choosing where to go within the constructed transition points—each adhered to the ground itself. The reactions were wonderful, especially from kids—scootering between the lines, walking along the lines, and jumping from space to space, the implementation of play was a great success."
