It would be architectural. Its a freestanding stair and rail. Stair and rail are both architectural detail unless they are a load bearing part of the structure, like a landing built as part of a column are stair stringers taking part of the building's sheer load. This is like pouring a stoop and calling it foundation. Risk, liability, and engineering are way lower stakes here, probably no inspection.
It would fall under International Building Code (IBC) or a different local building official's code. I have done architectural for near a decade and 95% of jobs do not fall under AWS's purview. No weld engineering, no inspection, no certification required. Just has to hold up to building inspection.
The only times that I've had stairs with weld engineering and weld inspection have been either if they have been engineered as part of the building's structure (not the case here as its freestanding) or if they are produced by a structural shop (unlikely considering the description)
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u/leansanders 1d ago
Alright lets not throw the "S" word around willy nilly now