A staircase without any railings

the guy holding the camera.

It’s an art thing. Without barricades it makes the Space look more open and “clean.” You see little examples like that often in simple ways- people who put things on their dash or rear parcel shelf or the car for instance- giving physics an instant weapon against them in the case of a collision or jolt. It’s the same logic between a home with a baby and without. “Why do I need to put covers on my outlets? No competent ad able adult is going to be put in danger by this...” same thought- “you’d have to be a real careless moron to just walk right down a flight of stairs- and this space isn’t for running or anything. People can pay attention to their surr- oops..”

Tl:dr- aesthetics. There’s a point for all of us where we will sacrifice safety or function for an aesthetic we prefer. Usually accompanied by the thought that “only a moron would hurt themselves on this...” ignoring that accidents can and do happen even to the most fastidious and intelligent.