Updated April 4th, 2016.
Amidst the cooing over beautiful architecture across social media platforms in recent months, there has been a bubbling undercurrent of tension — and it is all down to the humble treads and risers of domestic staircases. Facebook comments beneath stunning project interiors have revealed concerns amongst some readers about the safety and code compliance of stairs around the globe, and some of the rhetoric has been robust in the extreme.
“Architizer, shame on you for promoting yet another example of a stairway that does not even attempt to provide for the safety of its users,” exclaimed Todd Hart, referring to the wafer-thin steps at the heart of the recently renovated Casa VI in Piateda, Italy. The stairs do not have a handrail, and Carolin Southern remarked that the architects “could at least have employed glass barriers” to provide extra safety while maintaining the minimalist aesthetic of the space.
Left: Casa VI by EV+A Lab Atelier d’Architettura e Interior Design, Piateda, Italy; right: Casa 14 by Luciano Kruk Arquitectos, Costa Esmeralda, Argentina
Just this week, we featured another project with a standout staircase — Luciano Kruk’s remarkable Casa L4, incorporating a “continuous ribbon of concrete treads and risers” that “appear to defy structural logic.” Commenters on Facebook came out in force again, with Patrick Frischknecht labeling the building a work of “unusable architecture,” remarking that “the stairs are extremely dangerous. Only made for taking pictures.”
Serial commenter Carlos O. Rojas was even more outspoken in his criticism of the pristine modernist staircase in Sebbah House in the Costa Brava, Spain. “Yet another stair that does not meet code and is downright dangerous. Slippery steps, no railing, no toe-rail … [It’s] only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt or killed,” he interjected on Facebook. “Seriously, Architizer, why don’t you let me be your stair police and help you not put this illegal stuff up.” A truly cutting critique of both architect and Architizer!
Sebbah House by Pepe Gascón Arquitectura, Costa Brava, Spain
While “stair policeman” Rojas may or may not be entirely serious in his vitriol, it is fair to say these projects have divided opinion amongst architects and design enthusiasts looking for projects to strike a balance between practicality and aesthetic impact. It is important to note that, in all likelihood, the architects that designed Casa VI, Casa 14 and Sebbah House must have complied with the building codes for domestic staircases as they are required to in Italy, Argentina and Spain, respectively.
These examples demonstrate the prevalence of variation in terms of building regulations across the European Union, South America and beyond. What may not be permissible in the United States can pass the equivalent safety checks in a plethora of other countries. Furthermore, the requirements for private residential dwellings are frequently much more relaxed than those for public buildings. What is certain is that these projects demonstrate architects’ constant desire to push boundaries in search of striking domestic designs.
Museum of Modern Art by Affonso Eduardo Reidy, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1953 construction photograph — a thicker tread and handrails were ultimately added before completion); via Al-Ahwal (sports news)
Regardless of your view on these examples, most would concur that truly great staircases make for architectural showstoppers more than almost any other element of a building interior. From Affonso Eduardo Reidy’s extraordinary spiraling stair in the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro — the scene of one of architecture’s most famous construction photographs, above — to this year’s A+Award finalists in the Architecture +Stairs category, there are an infinite number of ways that this elemental component of architecture can take one’s breath away.
Speaking of that A+Awards shortlist, the projects currently up for the public vote are as diverse as they are beautiful. The impossibly thin timber steps of Bridge House by Christian von Düring contrast with the majestic solidity of Jamie Fobert Architects’ sculpted travertine staircase, evoking a geological feature that could have been carved by wind and rain as much as stonemasons.
A+Awards finalists, clockwise from top left: University of Essex Silberrad Student Centre by Patel Taylor; Upper East Side Duplex by SPAN Architecture; Swedbank Headquarters by 3XN; Bridge House by Christian von Düring; Travertine Stair by Jamie Fobert Architects
Meanwhile, the gleaming white spiral staircase of the Swedbank Headquarters by 3XN is juxtaposed with Patel Taylor’s ribbons of dark steel and rich timber, ascending the atrium at the heart of the University of Essex’s new student center in the United Kingdom. Finally, SPAN Architecture’s ethereal staircase of metallic mesh graces a top-to-bottom renovation in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York.
So, whether you are enamored with all of these striking staircases, or fuming over the architects’ extreme bravado, keep a close eye on the A+Awards Finalists — the winners will be announced on April 12th. Good luck to all who have entered!
