Stairwell
A staircase or stairway is a flight or series of flights of stairs. It is used to connect walkways between floors so that one can move in height. A stairwell is a shaft in a building where a staircase is located. In buildings with several housing units, a stairway can be a necessary common area for getting to and from apartments.
Staircases provide vertical access to connected floors in a multi-story building, and are a functional part of it. Stairwells are often used to place several staircases vertically, one above the other. The entrance to elevators is often located in the stairwell. Sometimes the stairwell goes around the lift shaft, other times it is placed next to it.
A landing platform area is generally provided at both ends of a staircase, rather than having a long series of steps that directly leads to a doorway without a flat area between the steps and the door. Minimum requirements for landing platforms are typically established in building safety codes. The length of a landing platform is generally at least equal to the width of the stairway. If the number of steps is small, a landing area may not be required, but a door would ordinarily not open in the direction that causes it to swing out over a stairway.
An exterior stairway is a stair in a separate structure attached to the rest of the building body, and can either be enclosed or exposed to the elements. Such temporary exposed stairways are sometimes used in conjunction with scaffolding on construction sites, or permanently as an emergency exit.
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