Seeing Boats Everywhere I Go

Stairs connecting ground and lower floors of deYoung Museum

This staircase is very familiar to me since it is a major feature of the deYoung Museum https://deyoung.famsf.org/
where I work. Many times when I stop to study the shape created by the curves, the glass and the walls, I see a big boat.
One can see boat shapes all around us. They are part of our ancient collective psyche and a very useful shape for holding all kinds of spaces.

Although this is very photogenic stairway, and looks exciting in this photo, it is very annoying to walk upon.  The spaces between the steps are awkwardly spaced so you have to navigate differently than what would be normal stair climbing and stepping rhythm. It is also long and can be tedious if you are in a hurry.
My architect friend caught onto the concept  that these were "garden stairs" designed to slow you down so you can contemplate the plantings on the other side of the glass. The de Young architects, Jacques Herzog, and Pierre de Meuron, brought the outside into the museum by using large glass window walls that give visual access to exterior exotic plantings. But I wonder if they were also inspired by the boat as they designed this stairway.
There are many historic ceilings that were definitely inspired by boat shapes. Stay tuned for this perspective.