A new lecture hall was recently completed in the historic Sibley Dome on Cornell’s campus. It’s a successful design in many respects, but the two exit doors seem to challenge a code requirement stipulating that “means of egress doors shall be readily distinguishable from the adjacent construction and finishes such that the doors are easily recognizable as doors.” The rationale for this requirement is clear: in a fire situation, when smoke may obscure exit signs and paths of egress, the last thing you’d want is to have trouble identifying the location of exit doors because they are purposefully designed to blend into the surrounding walls.

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