Are those purely emergency exit stairs or do people regularly use them to exit at the end of the building? Maybe it's just that they want to air condition them? Though if they are connected to the regular HVAC system, I don't know if they would qualify as emergency exit stairs since ventilation for emergency exit stairs has to be separate from the regular building HVAC system, and preferably come from outside.
EPCOT Building Code, 806.12 Stairway Construction, Exterior.
They are definitely the egress stairs and there is no problem with them being air conditioned. Separation doesn’t mean having an entirely different system, it just means protecting the stair from smoke and fire spreading through the ducts into the stairs for a certain amount of time.
but that again is just poor design...a building facing direct waterfront and the architects and designers are so caught in the cookie-cutter design they cannot possibly alter the units on the ends of the building to allow for better views and light...they could have even been special suites...But beyond that to have not added a little detail is just lazy.
I agree, though I still believe they could have done something to help conceal these stairs a bit more.
Are you talking about the Grand Floridian Villas or the Riviera? Nothing regarding the aesthics of either was required by the EPCOT Building Code, Florida Building Code or Florida Fire Prevention Code.
I wasn’t implying that the building codes were responsible for any of the poor design in the new projects. I was just saying that possibly building codes is why the stairs are no longer partially outside like those seen at the original GF buildings. Which clearly appears to be not the case.
I was talking about the Riviera, specifically how I believe they could have operated within the building code and improved the aesthetics of the hiding that stairwell/making the end of the building more visually interesting.
I have also wondered that. They don't honestly look particularly "imagineered" beyond what an outside architectural firm could offer.
It can vary between projects but everything still needs Walt Disney Imagineering’s approval.
Interesting on the bottom window on the left-hand side: Looks like fake closed shutters to give the impression that there's a window there, even though there isn't. I wonder if they're going to be able to give that same look on the loading dock side where there are no real windows on that entire end of the building? It's not a half-bad deception!
But it looks like a generic hotel at Virginia Beach, seen from Rudee Inlet.
But it looks like a generic hotel at Virginia Beach, seen from Rudee Inlet.
For comparison, here is the real thing: (look it up)
So, we now have the authenticity of the Riviera, by way of Virginia Beach... or any other beach vacation town in the United States.
