The Staircase: The Architecture of Ascent

A magnificent survey of the staircase in all its forms with dazzling photographs, many specially taken for this book

This extraordinary book showcases the astonishing diversity of staircases over the centuries, from the stepped pyramids of the Maya to exquisitely proportioned Renaissance stairs, to the elaborate balustraded confections of the Baroque period and the computer-aided designs of today.

Here are Michelangelo’s double stair at the Palazzo dei Senatori on the Capitoline Hill in Rome; the double-spiral stair at Château de Chambord in the Loire; the entrance stair in the Hermitage in St Petersburg; the radical spiral ramp of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum; and the exterior stair at the Pompidou Centre in Paris.

The authors also explore the magical and symbolic meanings of the staircase. Powerful emblems of technological and artistic achievement, these staircases are inherently dynamic – as is every page of this fascinating and beautifully illustrated book.

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The essential purpose of a staircase is utilitarian: to facilitate ascent and descent. Yet the design of even the simplest stair is complex, requiring great knowledge, skill and ingenuity.

This volume showcases the astonishing diversity of staircases over the centuries, from the stepped pyramids of the Maya to the exquisitely proportioned stairs of the Renaissance, to the elaborate balustraded confections of the Baroque period, to the virtuosic, computer-aided designs of today. A superb range of photographs, many specially taken for this publication, illustrates clear and accessible written surveys by specialist architectural historians. From Renaissance masterpieces, the sweeping curves of Art Nouveau, the functional beauty of the Bauhaus, to high-tech contemporary dream creations, the staircase is a powerful emblem of technological and artistic achievement. Architectural tours de force all, often charged with religious, mystical and hierarchical meaning, these staircases are inherently dynamic, as is every page of this fascinating and beautifully illustrated book.

Contents List:

Requiem for the Staircase • Introduction: Oscar Tusquets Blanca • A Lesson in Architecture: 12th–16th century, Martine Diot • Theatre of Power: 17th–18th century, Adelaïde de Savray • Apotheosis of Ornament: 19th century, Jérôme Coignard • From Art Nouveau to the Present Day: 20th–21st century, Jean Dethier

About the Authors:

Oscar Tusquets Blanca is an architect, designer, painter, writer and curator.
Martine Diot is head of information studies at the Centre for Research on Historical Monuments in Paris.