Making the stairs more inviting

The only downside I see to this is if stairwell music winds up with as bad a rep as its elevator cousin

So how does one design a building where people actually use the stairs? There are three key features.

1. Fewer turns between the stairs and the closest entrance.
2. Stairs with large surface areas (not too narrow and steep) create a view, either up, down, or across, from the stairwell.
3. No one wants to walk up a tiny, white box. The Booth School of Business staircases meet all of these requirements (perhaps it’s no surprise the building won a major design award last year). For those who can’t build new stairwells, there are a few other nudges to try. Displaying motivational signs in the lobby and throughout the building, and playing music in the stairwell can increase stair use. Together, these two nudges can increase usage by as much as 9 percent. Hanging artwork on the stairwell walls, closing elevators occasionally, and offering incentives like fruit are also known to work

from “What would it take to get you to take the stairs more? How about music and a view?,” Nudge blog, 23 June 2009