A case for stairs
When you start school in Architecture or Interior Architecture, one of the first real things you're encouraged to learn about are stairs. We start with simple layouts of rooms and understanding structures but I have noticed a particularly unique focus professors put on stairs. Having studied in two different countries I found it rather interesting that my teachers being so far apart and in slightly different fields still had the same thing in mind when it came to our first detailing exercise.
So what is it about the stair that can draw such focus? There is the basics, that for a beginner it can be particularly hard to design, even when you are just using basic math and given standards. I got to struggle through the start of it in architecture school and watch my peers struggle through it in graduate school. And considering how important, and nuanced stair design can be it was an understandable starting point.
With time I learned more about staircases that are just beyond the ordinary. I learnt about stairs that were more that a form of egress, more than just point A to point B. I learnt about the fascination around staircases as pieces of art. I came to an important understanding about the space they take and how volumes can be elongated, twisted or compressed using them. I learnt about how they were used as symbolism in art and literature. The all so common descent into a stairwell or the idea of a stairway to heaven. It was clear that this combination of what we saw as risers and treads was so much more to those who use it everyday and thread them into stories and works of art.
When it came to my graduate thesis I had chosen an interesting building for my design. My design was for an art lab that integrated technology and aimed to engage the community it was built in. My initial designs fell short of the idea I had, it seemed to be missing pieces that tied it into the building as I wanted it to. The spaces were mapped out, laid out in parts of a condominium complex. They were meant to tie into the amenities of the building and encourage people from the neighborhood to engage with the space as well.
After my first couple critiques, the space being too large and trying to find a way to best utilize some of the loft spaces on the highest floor came into question. I started exploring using the space vertically as opposed to sticking to the original idea of spreading across the first two levels. The staircase came as part of the idea, and initially it stayed a utilitarian piece, simply meant to facilitate movement between the floors.
Soon I introduced the idea of central open volume to create a display, of sorts, to the draw attention of the general public who might have ventured into the cafe I had placed strategically in the first floor. The volume intended to showcase a small piece of each of the concepts and draw the attention of passerby's. Then came the idea of the sculptural stair. The staircase was meant to add dimension and privacy to each of the floors and create a unique new draw to the central volume. But it soon became much more.
The design allowed me to incorporate more of the industrial style of design I used for the spaces while also using color and volume to direct the eye. Inspired by the harbor and the building's own ties to the shipbuilding the space filled with deep ocean blues moving upwards as the stair spiraled to the color of the sky.
Conceptual sketch - Art and Interface Thesis Design 2019
The design allowed me to incorporate a sense of whimsy to the space while creating a dynamic and distinct piece of the concept. While still just being the least activity driven space within my design, the stairway quite literally lead to everything. It was also the piece I enjoyed designing the most.
The stair inspired a more open and active staircase at the entrance, which focused on allowing for flexible use just as much as movement. The hope was to see people read, sketch, paint, converse, and debate on those steps and inspire a community to engage in art and creativity. More so than that, the root of the idea was to create a space that could expand and build on itself to incorporate the needs of its users and the onset of new technology. The space was meant to seat itself as the foundation for thought, learning and overcoming inhibitions about art or technology.
In the year that has passed I have experienced and learnt about many unique stairs. The pieces of public art like the Vessel, in New York or the intricate mosaic of the 16th Avenue tiled steps in San Francisco, or the apparent staircase to nowhere Himlatrappan by Gert Wingårdh in the Kivik Art Center in Sweden. There seems to be a continued fascination with art as egress. Artists and designers have remained inspired to use stairs to create designs that break the norms of public space.
It seems clear to me now, why my schooling had such a focus on stairs. I have a renewed understanding of their significance and will remain both inspired and cognizant of their role. Whether a sculpture within a building or beyond it, staircases will always hold a unique piece of the jigsaw that is spatial design.
