Bad Designs on Campus - Submission
The Long Way Around
Problem description: At the juncture of the G. G. Brown and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science buildings sits a stairwell (Figure 1). This set of stairs provides me a convenient route from my lab in 2271 GGB to my Linear Systems class in 1311 EECS except for one bothersome detail. To traverse the 2nd floor landing of the stairwell, I must either open two latched doors or jump over a railing (Figure 2). This sounds trivial, and perhaps it is, but just try it once and observe how silly you feel.
Proposed solution: If the railing was absent, I would have a straight shot through the stairwell and could avoid door-opening or rail-jumping. I propose that building administrators cut the railing, detach the ends from the wall, and attach "C" shaped members to the cut portion of the railing (Figure 3). This will eliminate the obstruction, making my trip to and from class more pleasant, and it will make the 2nd floor landing match the rest of the landings in the stairwell.
