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I do wish those stairs down into the water were full width in the opening there. They feel to me like they're chopped off or shortened in order to be cheaper (not that stone steps into a harbour are cheap to begin with... which makes it even more incongruous). Perhaps their width will make more sense once the rest of the plaza and building are complete and missing design elements are in place.

I don't understand the stairs. They strike me as a huge liability issue for the owners. I can foresee some drug-addled kid taking a walk down them late some night and stepping off into the depths of the harbour.

I had similar thoughts when I first saw the design... why have stairs that go directly to the water when it's not actually a place where you would or should go into the water?

I didn't actually have the 'drug-addled kid' thought, though I suppose it's a possibility (though in actuality, probably not more than falling off the pier into the water).

I understand the idea that it will be a cool place to sit, but why have them actually dip into the harbour at the bottom? And, by nature of their slope, if somebody stumbles will that mean they have the potential to bounce down the stairs and into the water? Should there not be some sort of railing or catcher in place for that? Just a thought...

:previous:

I foresee a fence at the top of those stairs in the not too distant future........

I've been to a few places where there are steps like this. False Creek in Vancouver is one. Tons of cities have fountains with a narrow path that you could easily fall off of. People like these things and the apparent problems are minimal.

Not unlike the "wave". Or Halifax's multiple kilometers of guardrail-free boardwalk.

Incidentally, there has been impact-absorbing rubber surrounding the base of The Wave for some time now... ;)

Of course there are hazards everywhere, and I'm sure the steps will be fine. People fall of the pier on the Halifax waterfront from time to time. Usually, they are scooped out, and are mostly OK...

I dunno, though. It's been a while since you've lived in Halifax, and the harbour has been cleaned up somewhat since those days (no 'floaties' anymore), but I still wouldn't be in any rush to sit at the bottom step and let harbour water splash up on me... :yuck:

:haha:

There aren't a lot of pristine urban waterways. False Creek is probably about the same as Halifax harbour. Both look a lot cleaner than most waterfronts but I wouldn't necessarily swim. The water's cold either way.

People use the steps in a variety of ways, to sit or just get closer to the water and look at it even if they're not going in. I've often thought it would be interesting just to have stairs that go down to a glassed in room below sea level (maybe with a roof like a box, maybe not). Some places have tourist attractions like this.

I don't see these steps being any more a hazard than the boardwalk itself. If anything, they are safer, because it's easier to escape the water if you were to fall in.

I think these stairs will be a very popular spot to just sit and look at the water. I agree that it looks like they should be a lot wider.

The Queen's Marque stone looks great!

I'm sure you are right. Perhaps I just associate stairs with a means to go somewhere - the visual of them leading to water triggers a strange vibe in my head. I've never been much of a stair-sitter, so this wouldn't be a natural use of stairs for me... ;)

Hopefully many people will enjoy them... safely. :)

They would be safer until you get to the bottom one. That last step is a doozy, down 20 feet or so. :drowning:

Wondering a couple of things... will the steps that will either be splashed with water or be under water, be cleaned on a regular basis, otherwise they will be slippery... Secondly, is the area on both sides of the steps available for ships to berth?

On the question about cleaning: A friend of mine did a test run with an application-specific apparatus on these stairs a month or two ago, so they must be shopping around to contract out cleaning the buildup. He showed me before and after pictures. The result was pretty impressive.

On a related topic, I am curious how they will deal with winter time icing. Surely it will be necessary to block access in freezing conditions.

Apparently (according to some) these steps are practically risk-free so we probably don't need to worry so much... "but the pier"...

;)

We have metal! It's much more brown-bronze than red, but who knows if that's the final treatment. The current look is very understated. I like it quite a bit and would be okay if this is the final finish.

You can't just tease us like that and not provide pictures.

Ha! I've never put the effort into finding a seamless way to post photos from my phone onto this forum. If no one beats me to it, I'll grab a photo on the way home this evening and stop being lazy about figuring a way to upload.

http://i.imgur.com/wXOuFN0h.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/MsB65q8h.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ncluTVZh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/5llSDQMh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/A852kGfh.jpg

The patterned metal in Roshan's 4th and 5th photos is the metal that has been up most of the summer. You can see the new metal on the north facade in the first photo.

I think this is looking good... looking forward to seeing more.