Architect's Leap is a stairwell in Wean Hall at Carnegie Mellon University. Wean Hall houses the departments of Mathematical Science and Computer Science, and it is connected to Doherty Hall, wherein are the offices for Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Biology. The stairwell in question is the one closest to the joining of the two buildings.
The Leap is so named because it is very close to the former location of the Architecture studios (They were moved two years prior to this writing.), and because the stairs are arrayed such that an empty shaft extends through its center for the height of five stories. Thus, the implication is that an overworked Architect, exasperated beyond his or her ability to cope, could choose to end it all by leaping from the eighth floor landing. A poem to this effect is written in the Leap, and can be read if you ascend the stairwell while looking slightly upwards.
In actuality, though, nobody has ever committed suicide here (If they have, the administration has covered it up but good.). However, a wide variety of objects have been dropped down the Leap. The department of Computer Science routinely junks old monitors by dropping them here, or by placing them on the floor on the third level of the building, and having heavy objects thrown onto them. Other objects that have been frequently dropped here include melons, coins, and ceramic objects.
On one occasion, during Spring Carnival 2002, I found that somebody with a lot of time on his hands had placed a soda can on each step of the Leap. The interesting thing about that is that every can was balanced on its edge, in that special way that can only be done when the can contains a specific amount of fluid.
In addition, Architect's Leap is typically extremely busy when Capture the Flag with Stuff is being played, because it provides excellent access to five floors of Wean Hall and Doherty Hall, as well as the outdoors.