Bleacher Stairs Are Only Half a Design
At the 2024 Designing Libraries conference, I was surprised to learn one thing in particular: New libraries are still putting in bleacher stairs.
I saw my first bleacher stairs at NCSU's Hunt Library when it opened in 2013:
They make for a striking visual, but I've never seen the seating side in heavy use. They're uncomfortable, have no working space, and the seats are inaccessible to anybody with mobility issues.
I don't mean to pick on any individual library for their particular implementation or design choices. I've certainly never designed a new library from scratch, and clearly have some professional jealousy that I'm working though. But if we don't use our peers' experience to inform new opportunities, that's a huge mistake.
This summer I learned the term "Bleacher Stairs" from architecture critic Mark Lamster's takedown of the concept. He thoroughly identified the shortcomings, and even highlighted an alternative design that's both functional & aesthetically pleasing.
Lamster mentioned that the bleacher stair concept came from a 2001 Prada design installation. I got curious, and pulled on that thread. Prada's design was by Rem Koolhaas & Ole Scheeren, and is certainly striking. Here's a model:
As I read about that installation, I noticed something else - a stage! The original facility included a very cool fold-out stage, and the bleacher stairs were used as seating to view events:
Other bleacher stairs that I've seen don't incorporate a stage into the design, and don't provide anything to serve as an focus of attention for people on the stairs. We're left with amphitheaters for staring into nothing at all.
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The one exception is, appropriately enough, back in NCSU's Hunt Library. Their second and smaller set of bleacher stairs goes between the 3rd & 4th floor. Looking straight ahead, there's a large screen visible to stair-sitters:
But that's the only example I've found that incorporates a reason to sit on the bleachers (I'd love to see others).
Architects & designers of libraries seem to have narrowed their vision to include only the bleacher stairs, and overlooked the element that gives the stairs their functionality. They inevitably end up without a reason for anybody to use the seating.
Even with the stage incorporated, stair-side accessibility issues persist. And that's probably reason enough to throw out the whole concept, as disability advocates and architecture critics have argued.
I'm not an architect, and I'm sure I've missed other more functional or accessible examples. But the bleacher stairs I recently saw on display in multiple new library designs still don't take real needs, functions, or accessibility into account.
There's lessons here about the lure of trendy design elements, looking at the big picture, prioritizing accessible design, and just plain talking to library staff about their experiences with design in practice. We don't have to copy each other over and over again, and shouldn't do any design work without thinking about end-users of those spaces.
Now I'm off to daydream about retrofitting the buildings where I work.
Photos from:
Instruction Program Lead Librarian
2 个月NYPL's 53rd Street library has them and is set up so that there is a screen that plays films silently. Of course you can check out headphones to listen. I saw it used heavily by children and families when I visited. The main library is actually down the stairs underground. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/21/nyregion/an-amphitheater-a-laptop-bar-its-a-new-york-library-like-no-other.html
Innovator | Strategist | Connector | Optimist
2 个月Agreed! Here is another example of stairs featured prominently in Robart’s Common at University of Toronto libraries- but with study desks filling stair space. Great natural light but very exposed. https://onesearch.library.utoronto.ca/sites/default/public/rc-common.jpeg
Outreach Projects Librarian at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
3 个月I hate these stairs! Thank you for writing this.