1. Spiral Stair (Australia)
Fascinating spiral stairs at Garvan Institute in Sydney, Australia. 6.5 revs and five stories from top to bottom.
2. Spiral Staircase at the Vatican Museum (Italy)
The
Vatican Museums spiral staircase is one of the most photographed in
the world, and certainly one of the most beautiful. Designed by
Giuseppe Momo in 1932, the broad steps are somewhere between a ramp
and a staircase. The stairs are actually two separate helixes, one
leading up and the other leading down, that twist together in a double
helix formation. Little did theVatican Museum know in 1932 that this
formation would come to represent life itself, with the discovery of
the double helical DNA strand.
3. Loretto Chapel Staircase (USA)
The
Loretto Chapel is a chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico, known for its
unusual spiral staircase that is an exceptional work of carpentry. The
construction and builder of the staircase are considered a miracle by
the Sisters of Loretto and many who visit it, because it had no
central support (a support was added later). The resulting staircase
is an impressive work of carpentry. It ascends twenty feet, making two
complete revolutions up to the choir loft without the use of nails or
apparent center support. It has been surmised that the central spiral
of the staircase is narrow enough to serve as a central beam.
Nonetheless there was no attachment unto any wall or pole in the
original stairway. Instead of metal nails,the staircase was
constructed using dowels or wooden pegs. The wood for the staircase
cannot be found anywhere in the region. The stairs had 33 steps, the
age of Jesus when he died. The mystery had never been satisfactorily
solved as to who the carpenter was or where he got his lumber, since
there were no reports of anyone seeing lumber delivered or even seeing
the man come and go whilethe construction was being done. Since he
left before the Mother Superior could pay him, the Sisters of Loretto
offered a reward for the identity of the man, but it was never
claimed.
4. Tulip Staircase at the Queen's House (England)
The
elegant Tulip Stairs in the Queen's House are the first geometric
self-supporting spiral stairs in Britain. Although called the 'Tulip
Stairs,' it is thought that the stylized flowers in the wrought-iron
balustrade are actually fleurs-de-lis, as this was the emblem of the
Bourbon family of which Queen Henrietta Maria (wife of Charles I) was a
member. The Tulip Stairs are also the location of the Rev R. W.
Hardy's famous 'ghost' photograph taken on 19 June 1966, which when
developed revealed what appear to be two or three shrouded figures
onthe staircase.
5. Staircase at Lello Bookshop (Portugal)
This
interesting grand staircase in Lello Bookshop in Portugal stands
ominous and heavy. The steps are like two channels pouring and
swirling to a single point. The side view gives you a closer idea of
the immense curves and giddy sinking feeling to each step.
6. San Francisco's Tiled Steps - World's Longest Mosaic Stair (USA)
The
16th Avenue Tiled Steps, perhaps the world's longest mosaic staircase
(163 steps, 82' high), was conceived and fabricated by Irish
ceramicist Aileen Barr and San Francisco mosaic artist Colette
Crutcher. Over a two and a half year period, a tireless group of
neighbors raised funds and lobbied city government to make the
project, unveiled in August 2005, a reality. Over 2000 handmade tiles
and 75,000 fragments of tile, mirror and stained glass went into the
finished piece, located at 16th Ave. and Moraga, in San Francisco.
7. Umschreibung - KPMG Building Munich (Germany)
This
artistic staircase designed by Olafur Eliasson is called Umschreibung
(Rewriting), and was completed in 2004. It's in the courtyard of the
global accounting firm KPMG in Munich.
8. Stairs at the Longchamp Store (New York)
Constructed
in 1¼” hot-rolled steel and taking six months to be built, the sta ir
landscape weighs 55 tons and is an installation of ribbon-like forms
that divide and converge to form a topography of walkways, landings
and steps.
9. Vertigo Staircase at the QVB Building (Australia)
This
image shows “The Grand Staircase" of Sydney's Grand Queen Victoria
Building. This building, now affectionately known as the QVB,
wasdesigned by George McRae and completed in 1898, replacing the
original Sydney markets on the site. Built as a monument to the long
reigning monarch, construction took place in dire times, as Sydney was
in a severe recession. The elaborate Romanesque architecture was
specially planned for the grand building so the Government could employ
many out-of-work craftsmen – stonemasons, plasterers, and stained
window artists – in a worthwhile project.
10. Bridge-stair at the Traversinertobel (Switzerland)
The
bridge over the Traversinertobel, a side valley of the Via Mala, is
the latest structure of this kind designed by engineer Jürg Conzett
and his associate Rolf Bachofner . They solved the problem of
connecting two different elevations over the gorge by creating a
staircase.The staircase replaces a rope bridge for hikers that was
wiped out by a rock slide. This suspended footbridge spans a distance
of 56 metres, with a difference in height of 22 metres between the two
ends