Moving through
Stair
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A succession of steps that makes it possible to go up or down on foot between different levels.
What it solves
It connects floors while taking up little floor area. Open or next to a courtyard, it also lets hot air rise and escape, which is useful in the tropics.
Today
Keep the same riser height and tread depth throughout the flight, with handrails on both sides and intermediate landings. The edge of each step must be clearly visible and not slippery when wet.
Common mistake
Changing the height of a single step, which causes people to trip even if the difference is only a few millimeters.
Tomorrow
A stair with low risers and a second handrail at children’s height is safe for the whole family. Designing it next to an elevator or a ramp lets everyone get upstairs.
Fact Blondel’s rule. Two risers plus one tread equal the length of a stride. The British guidance for private stairs allows between 55 and 70 centimeters for that sum.
Where it comes from
- 1Greek colony of Selinunte Sicily, Italy, around 480 to 470 BC
Temple A holds the oldest known spiral staircases. - 2Renaissance and Baroque architecture Europe, 15th to 18th centuries
The staircase takes on varied forms and becomes an increasingly elaborate piece. - 3French architectural treatise France, 1675 to 1683
Nicolas François Blondel sets the relationship between tread and riser that is still used to design comfortable steps.
Masters
- Lina Bo Bardi Staircase of the Solar do Unhão, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
She designs a timber spiral staircase assembled without screws using the same joinery technique as ox carts. It teaches that a staircase can unite popular craft with modern architecture.
Appears in the routes
See also
Also in Moving through
Diagrams and texts by LDB Arquitectura. They are shared under the CC BY 4.0 license, which allows them to be used and adapted with credit to the source.