After coming to the conclusion that having separate stairs and ramps to the space would take up an unnecessary and frankly unattractive space, I decided to incorporate both into one which allows for areas of seating too.
I took inspiration from the blended steps in Robson Square, Vancouver BC. These nicely integrate stairs and ramps into one however, I feel there are some drawbacks to this execution.
Firstly, I feel that there are not that many handrails. This makes paths up the stair portions feel less obvious. With the small steps at the corner of each ramp, I feel it could encourage a flow to these "choke" points. They feel tight and unpractical as they immediately cross the ramp at its slope rather than the flat portion.
I plan to address the first point by following the K1 regulations and forcing handrails no more than 2m apart. I then plan to address the second issue by placing seating in these choke points. This discourages a flow in these points and makes use of the more unpractical spaces.
(These are addressed on the 19.04.2021 Blog post.)
It gives a really interesting pattern from the front elevation responding to the slope of the main volume inside the skin.
Following the shape of the volume also gives areas to look down, perhaps these could have natural green areas?