Editing Staircase (section)

{{Short description|Room where stairs are located}}
{{Redirect|Stairway||Staircase (disambiguation)|and|Stairway (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Skylight,_chandelier_and_stairs,_Ashmolean_Museum,_Oxford.jpg|right|thumb|Stairway with [[skylight]]]]

A '''stairwell''' or '''stair room''' is a room in a [[building]] where a [[stair]] is located, and is used to connect walkways between [[Storey|floors]] so that one can move in height.<ref>{{Cite web |title=oppgang |url=https://naob.no/ordbok/oppgang |access-date=2024-02-11 |website=Det Norske Akademis ordbok |language=no}}</ref> Collectively, a set of stairs and a stairwell is referred to as a '''staircase''' or '''stairway'''. In buildings with several housing units, a stairway can be a necessary [[common area]] for getting to and from [[apartment]]s.

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.<ref>{{Cite web |first= |title=How not to mess up your loft conversion stairs |url=https://resi.co.uk/advice/loft-conversions/loft-conversion-stair-ideas |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=Resi |language=EN}}</ref> The entrance to [[elevator]]s 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,<ref>{{Cite web |title=trappehus |url=https://naob.no/ordbok/trappehus |access-date=2024-02-11 |website=Det Norske Akademis ordbok |language=no}}</ref> 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]].