Senate committee hears update on single‑stair multifamily code change

Senate Committee on Housing and Development Chair Pham on May 19 opened an informational briefing on proposed building‑code changes to allow some multistory residential buildings to use a single stair as an approved means of egress.

Architect Michael Eliasson, of LaunchLab in Seattle, told the committee that single‑stair, point‑access buildings are common in many other countries and that allowing single‑stair designs can enable smaller, thinner buildings with more daylight, cross‑ventilation and family‑sized units compared with double‑loaded‑corridor apartments. “Seattle actually started allowing these in the in the late seventies…so we’ve had it for almost 50 years,” Eliasson said, describing that city’s experience with six‑floor single‑stair…