12 October 2018
Stairs are very much an understated and often an underappreciated part of our lives. Despite their incredible importance, and hugely varying forms, stairs are very rarely seen as more than a tool performing the basic function of helping us get from A to B. However, stairs are full of possibilities, as shown by these eight incredible staircases from across the globe.
Often cited as one of the most beautiful locations in the city of Porto, this heavily Art Nouveau library is full of artistic character from inside to outside, yet it is the staircase that attracts the attention of the masses. Flowing in and out with curves and symmetry, this grand staircase of dark wood and deep red finish is believed to be one of the main inspirations behind the interior of Hogwarts from J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter books – Rowling lived as an English teacher in the city for many years and often frequented the library before writing the acclaimed novels.
Built as part of the famous Queen’s House in Greenwich, London, in the early 1600s, this famous royal staircase is full of heritage and looks as stylish today as it would have done all those centuries ago. The first geometric self-supporting spiral staircase in Britain attributes its name to the unique blue colour of the rails painted with crushed glass, and the Queen’s love of flowers.
The Tianmen Cave in China’s Hunan Province is the highest naturally formed arch in the world, a giant gateway at the top of Tianmen Mountain. A cable car can take you almost to the top, but the summit is reached either by bus, or by a remarkable staircase known as the Stairway to Heaven. 999 steps tall – nine being a lucky number in China – this long, wide staircase takes you into the spectacular heart of the mountain.
One of the earliest surviving remnants of cubism interior design, this staircase designed by Josef Gočár in 1911 was initially part of a building used simply as an office under communism regime in Prague. Nowadays the building is known as the Museum of Czech Cubism and, looking up from the bottom, shows the perfect shape of a light bulb passing through this incredible staircase.
The modern version of this double-helix staircase was created in 1932 by Giuseppe Momo for the modern Vatican museum, but the concept actually dates back to 1505. Simply broken down as two spiral staircases using the same space yet being completely separate from one another, these were designed originally to allow an uninterrupted flow of traffic up and down.
Translated as the 100 Steps Gardens, the Hyakudaden is a collection of 100 flower beds built on a small incline, with over 1500 steps geometrically cutting up through the gardens. A beautiful, sprawling collection of flowers and clean white steps, this is the centrepiece at the Awaji Yumebutai, a memorial dedicated to the 1995 Great Hanshin Awaji earthquake in Hyōgo.
