A Courthouse with a Glass Staircase

Simple solution. Frost the glass. Still get the glass staircase effect but not worries about look & sees.

Cue someone suing them in 3......2......

This story seems kind of off... the stairs themselves aren't transparent, just the glass behind them. The glass itself isn't the issue so much as the gap in the stairs - and that type of stairwell can be found all over the place - in schools, museums, public parks... I've heard women complain about the design before, and I even understand it, but usually it's not a national news story.

If anything the glass makes a fix easy, because you can just frost it next week and be done with it.

Also, that judge has serious anger management issues.

The angles. They do not work. Stairways with gaps between the stairs have been around for about 50 years, the stairs themselves are not transparent.

Stairways that have gaps have different proportions, with more overlap between each step.

These are different. There is no overlap, and the riser for each step is glass, which makes them more transparent from below than other steps with gaps.

Also, stairways in gaps are more commonly found in areas with less traffic, not over a large, open lobby area.

Stupid design. Shouldn't have made it all the way to production. Fix it.

Yeah, the type of stairwell is nothing new. It's the glass that's the problem. Paint em and be done with it.

What's funny is that they're paying a security guard to scare women rather than resolving the issue.

I didn't like that judge either. Not anger management issues, but she sure has a thing against men.

I'm more astonished that with our budget they're paying 105 mil for a new courthouse anything.

Dumbasses.

I hate this state

Thats the same building that also was built and then they realized that cellphones, police radios and wifi wouldnt work in it.
http://blog.cleveland.com/pdextra/2011/01/franklin_county_courthouse_pho.html

Its been a disaster from the beginning...

How awful, someone might see your undies.

Perhaps women would feel better if they also frosted the glass ceiling.

Because, of course, all blokes do that. Got to love sexist generalities. But its ok since its only men who are being stereotyped...

@Egbert, if you look carefully at the article, the judge never specifies concerns about a specific gender being able to see up skirts. She only states that men probably didn't consider this problem when designing the stairs. You projected that particular sexist generalisation onto the story yourself. And before anyone states it's obvious the judge is implying that women who walk up these stairs have to be concerned about men rather than women, you should know that the idea that women are perfectly comfortable being exposed in the presence of other women is a myth. Personally I would be uncomfortable knowing anyone, man or woman could see up my skirt, and not because I assume they'll like what they see. It's just plain embarrassing.

Toss a long carpet on it? Bunch of big plants underneath it?

Lol interesting architectural design but even I would worry about someone looking up. Can't always really expect people to be mature about things such as this but let's hope that's really the case.

Jessss, it's pretty bad for a judge to make that kind of blanket statement anyways. It makes me wonder about her impartiality if she feels so strongly biased against men.

Would her comment be acceptable if she said, "This was probably designed by a woman. They just don't understand architecture..."?

Would a female architect have designed the stairs the same way? I think so. Maybe one did. The judge's sexist speculation is just speculation.