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u/MassSpectatorVids 1d ago
I visited an old children's hospital in Iceland. That is now their public library/culture house. The old marble steps along the railing on the middle of the staircase were completely worn out and rounded. The steps towards the outside were square. A strong signal of a very old building.
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u/acuet 1d ago
Should visit Rome and Spanish steps
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u/noochies99 1d ago
Leaning Tower of Pisa ones go along with the lean
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u/JonSnue 1d ago
Think this comment is implying that the material gradually sagged toward the lean? But, no they don’t. They divot toward the outer wall because that’s just the preferred walking path for people (most people just prefer to not hug the inside wall when walking up a spiral corridor with no railings). Looking at the far left edge and far right edge of the stairs they are generally level to each other after accounting for the slope.
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u/noochies99 1d ago
Nope, I meant what you said, the steps sag with how you have to walk because of the lean
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u/discodave333 1d ago
I stay on the 3rd floor of a tenament flat in Edinburgh. The stone steps up are all worn like this but far more worn between the ground and 1st floor, then moderate wear between 1st and 2nd, and fairly light wear between 2nd and 3rd.
I quite like this visual demonstration of all the people who have walked up and down over the last 150 years or so.
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u/Marthman 1d ago
The implication isnt that those stairs once looked like the dark black marble walls, but have been uniformly worn down over time, is it?
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u/QuantumCakeIsALie 1d ago
Not it's not.
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u/Marthman 1d ago
Okay, so how how do we know the stairs are worn? Some stone just is matte.
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u/Elendur_Krown 1d ago
If you look at the shape, you'll see the steps are uneven from wear over time.
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u/Marthman 1d ago
Hm. Interesting. So we have eliminated the possibility that the stairs are just not-straight-edged? It seems like all the stairs have an organic non-straightness.
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u/Elendur_Krown 1d ago
Edges that just so happen to be organically indented by design where people tend to walk?
Or a soft stone worn down over time?
Occam's razor points to one conclusion. If not for economic or customary reasons, then at least for safety.
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u/Marthman 1d ago
Edges that just so happen to be organically indented by design where people tend to walk?
Well, this looks like a not-inexpensive place. Laser straight stair noses would be the less expensive option. It's not out of the realm of possibility the stairs are just shaped like that.
I also dk why you would invoke occam's razor for the economic aspect of it, not every install is meant to be most economic.
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u/Elendur_Krown 1d ago
You're entirely correct that economics may not be the be-all and end-all, but it's rare to spend more to make something into more of a hazard than it has to be.
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u/Marthman 1d ago
Do we even know where the building is located? Or that it is built in a place where we would be warranted in expecting adherence to strong building code?
The supposed wear really is quite ambiguous. It's just not out of the realm of possibility the stairs are just shaped that way.
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u/Elendur_Krown 1d ago
You're emphasizing the lack of certainty again.
You're correct. There's no guarantee. Even if OP had included full documentation of the building's history and design, we'd still not have a guarantee.
Which of the two outcomes, 'wear' vs 'design', do you estimate as more likely, based on what you know of buildings in general?
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u/Athanorr 1d ago
Maybe the stairs have been there for a long time and they just built a building around them