A couple of months ago I reflected on this forum about the first time I visited the IWC Schaffhausen factory in the 1980's. Coming from New York City I was amazed that the headquarters building had a set of black and white open and airy stairs which everyone, including all employees from the president to the secretaries, used for going from the street level reception area up to each floor.
As one accustomed to stepping into modern elevators at major companies back in the U.S. I remember inquiring about this old-fashioned way of navigating the long climbing stairs. My host politely said that “this ensures that we stay fit and trim”. Having heard that I paused to catch my breath and was duly impressed.
Note that these steps are quite impressive since they are spiral and centered within the building hallways with open space all around the stairway from floor to floor. By contrast, in the newer IWC buildings stairways were placed in zig-zag fashion alongside a glass wall facing the exterior. Those are not spiral and, in my opinion, not as regal looking as the older set of stairs though they offer great views to and from the outside.
I just came acoss these pictures while looking for something else. I sincerely believe that the open space of a set of stairs (shown in the photos) in IWC's original headquarters building symbolizes that we, even in the 21st century, shouldn't rush time. Walking up and down the stairs each second still beats precisely without any influences of the modern technology of an elevator a.k.a. lift.
Regards,
Jack Freedman
For a photo of the zig-zag stairway in the new IWC building, see here:
https://www.iwc.com/member/forum/display.asp?id=166576
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