See-through walkways may make for pretty pictures, but try traversing them in a skirt.
Los Angeles Times journalist Carolina A. Miranda tweeted about her experience doing just that in a glass-floored library and ignited a fire storm of responses from many women, and design critics.
The online discussion included pointing fingers at some of the notable American architects who’ve recently designed buildings with transparent circulation that creates the disconcerting opportunity for up-skirt views, namely Rafael Viñoly’s 2009 architecture school at City College of New York and Apple’s glass staircases.
As cited by Miranda, technology writer Joanne McNeil, who reviewed Apple’s stores in 2010, wrote that “if I were commissioning the interior of any kind of store and someone brought me blueprints including glass staircases, I’d tell him to take a hike. If he’s not intuitive enough to grasp that women in skirts will be uncomfortable walking upstairs, clouded glass or not, then what other errors has he made in his design?” [LAT]–Erin Hudson