Miss Cellania
10 Notable Staircases
by Miss Cellania - July 31, 2008 - 6:27 AM
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Staircases can be so much more than just a means of getting to the next floor. A staircase can be a work of art, a conversation piece, a place to meditate, or a historical marker.

Floating on a Wall

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This floating staircase by designer Jordi Vayreda looks dangerous, but the steps are made of steel welded to a thick beam inside the wall. The top of the wall can be used as a handrail for the upper half of the staircase. See more pictures and an explanation here.

Hanging Spirals

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This design makes sweeping under the stairs easy! A hanging double spiral staircase is part of the Didden Village project in Rotterdam. There are two such staircases; the other is a single spiral.

Bookshelf Stairs

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Levitate Architects of London designed this bookshelf staircase to combine storage space with access to a loft bedroom. The skylight above provides enough daylight to read a book while you sit on the stairs!

Staircase Drawers

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Another way to use stairs for extra storage is to put drawers in the risers. That’s a lot of drawers. When this design went around the internet, everyone loved it, but all I could think of was how my kids tend to leave drawers open, and how easy it would be to trip over one that was left even the slightest bit ajar.

Alternating Stairs

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Gabriella Gustafson and Mattias Ståhlbom of TAF designed this unusual staircase for a private residence in Stockholm, Sweden. The alternating stair design takes up much less room than conventional stairs, but you cannot rush up or down without thinking about where you put your feet!

Step Up, Slide Down

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Entrepreneur Scott Jones built a spiral staircase combined with a slide for his home. The mahogany slide took 15 months to build, and the spiral staircase was added afterward.

The Stairway as Art

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Artist Olafur Eliasson created this steel sculpture called Umschreibung (Rewriting) in 2004 for the KPMG building in Munich.

Stairs to Nowhere

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The Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California, was built by Sarah L. Winchester, widow of the famous gun maker. The 160-room house was under constant construction for 38 years, until Winchester’s death in 1922. She believed that the house was haunted by the spirits of those killed by Winchester rifles, and only constant building would keep them from taking her life. One of the many strange features of the house is this staircase that leads straight to the ceiling!

The Miraculous Staircase

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The helix staircase at Sisters of Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, New Mexico has legendary roots. The story goes that the chapel was built without access to the choir loft. There was no room for a normal staircase, so the sisters prayed to St. Joseph (the carpenter) for a solution. A mysterious man arrived, looking for work, and built the spiral staircase without a center support pole. He then left without being paid. The nuns believed the stranger to be St. Joseph himself. Later evidence points to the staircase as the work of French woodworker Francois-Jean Rochas. Some say the staircase is a miracle since it has no visible means of support, while others say the support is there, it’s just hidden from view.

Memorial Stairs

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The Survivor’s Staircase was the only part of the World Trade Center left standing above ground after the destruction of September 11, 2001. The staircase was recently moved for the second time this year, as construction of the World Trade Center Memorial and Museum continues. It will be installed as part of the memorial, scheduled to be completed in 2012. Image by Phillip Ritz.

Some staircases were found at deputydog and Neatorama.

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Comments (58)

  1. One more would be the Holy Stairs at Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano. The 28 marble stairs are said to be the steps walked up by Christ on his way to trial before Pontius Pilate. St. Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine, was a pioneering collector of relics, and the staircase is supposedly among her finds, brought to Rome in c.326 AD.

    posted by Marty on 7-31-2008 at 8:41 am

  2. I have coveted those bookshelf stairs since I first saw them some time ago on a design website I go to. It’s just such a good idea it makes my head explode.

    posted by SpaceMonkeyX on 7-31-2008 at 8:45 am

  3. Another would be the Holy Stairs at Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano. The stairs are said to be the steps walked up by Christ on his way to trial before Pontius Pilate. St. Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine, was a pioneering collector of relics, and the staircase is supposedly among her finds, brought to Rome in c.326 AD.

    posted by Marty on 7-31-2008 at 8:45 am

  4. Very cool post! I remember seeing the ‘Miraculous Staircase’ years ago on Unsolved Mysteries. There’s another cool self-supporting (stone) staircase in the Old State Capitol in Frankfort. There’s also the staircase from the top of the Saigon embassy (up to the helipad) that’s featured in all of the end-of-the-war footage from Vietnam. That one’s actually in the Ford Presidential Library now.

    I would totally fall off that first one.

    posted by Roger on 7-31-2008 at 9:14 am

  5. I had the exact opposite reaction to the bookcase/staircase than SpaceMonkey, with my immediate opinion being “what a bad idea!”
    As the owner of a house with 100% hardwood floors, I’ve come to notice the majority of the dust, dirt, and cat hair in my house collects at the stairs. Putting books there would be a nightmare. The books would constantly be getting quite dirty and the spines would be kicked regularly. Plus, the only way to mop the staircase would be to remove all of the books. Way too much work.

    posted by Florida on 7-31-2008 at 9:48 am

  6. I agree with Florida. As appealing as it looks, I think the stairs would have to be pretty deep to avoid kicking the books. It might work ok if it was a seldom-used staircase–this one says it goes up to a loft, so if no one spends a ton of time up there, it might be ok. But yeah, it would be pretty impractical for a main first to second floor thoroughfare.

    posted by kate on 7-31-2008 at 10:05 am

  7. i have hardwood floors and i also have noticed how everything seems to collect on the stairs. why is that????? my books would be full of cat hair and dust. not a good idea for my house. but the drawers would be cool for storage.

    posted by motorkitty on 7-31-2008 at 10:24 am

  8. I too suffer from the hardwood stairs/cat hair phenomenon…I just always figured it was because the cats tend to run up and down the stairs, and more hair falls off then? Interesting….

    posted by Kristi on 7-31-2008 at 11:03 am

  9. The first set is doing nothing to assuage my completely rational fear of stairs.

    posted by adrienne on 7-31-2008 at 12:23 pm

  10. i’d hate to be the poor guy who had to move furniture up some of these staircases…

    posted by tiffany on 7-31-2008 at 1:10 pm

  11. I could stair at this page for ages…

    posted by Paschkefan on 7-31-2008 at 2:27 pm

  12. I think that the bookshelf staircase would be workable if it wasn’t actually used as stairs – it would just be a way to get to books on higher shelves. Since you’re not rushing to get somewhere, and if you made the steps pretty deep, you could probably avoid kicking the books, especially if you made a ‘no shoes’ rule.

    A lot of these I would totally trip down and die. Especially the alternating stairs. Although the slide one would be so much fun to use.

    But steps with nothing under them? That freaks me out.

    posted by Rosalie on 7-31-2008 at 2:49 pm

  13. Thanks for the cool post! I am glad to see the Winchester Mystery House stairs referenced. I am from San Jose and that is one of our main tourist attractions. It is a weird house with random, strange designs. Also the other staircases in the house are different since they are about 13 steps (Mrs. Winchester obsessed over the number 13) and the steps themselves are smaller than normal (not as high) since she was very short.

    posted by G on 7-31-2008 at 3:08 pm

  14. the bookshelf stairs are fine for houses with carpeting and/or people who like to clean alot. the first two would terrify me though. i’d be afraid to fall. That last one is amazing. i’ve always wanted a spiral staircase. they’re so much more interesting than regular ones.

    good job

    posted by Claire on 7-31-2008 at 5:12 pm

  15. Cool stuff! When I saw the title, I thought of the Da Vinci staircase at Chambord. It’s a double helix, with one helix for going up, and the other for going down. The idea was, when it was Louis XIV lived there, that whoever was going up the stairs to see the king couldn’t see who was just leaving.

    posted by Jim on 7-31-2008 at 7:38 pm

  16. As for kids leaving the drawers open in the storage drawer stairs – my kitchen drawers close by themselves – I think that would be a mandatory feature.

    Very interesting, very beautiful. Also terrifying, of course. That alternating staircase – YIKES!!!

    posted by Susan on 8-1-2008 at 12:41 am

  17. 10 Notable Staircases | Deliggit.com…

    \r\nStaircases can be so much more than just a means of getting to the next floor. A…

    posted by Deliggit.com | The social sites' most interesting urls on 8-1-2008 at 8:49 am

  18. Spiral staircases makes me nervous. I fear they are never going to end.

    posted by Audra on 8-1-2008 at 10:46 pm

  19. Great post! I absolutely love the hanging sprial staircase and the bookcase/staircase. I’m certain I would kill myself on the alternating stairs, though- I can barely manage not to trip up regular stairs!

    Can’t show this post to my husband…or he will insist on replicating the slide/staircase!

    posted by Dawn on 8-9-2008 at 6:28 pm

  20. audra – me too! not the never going to end but i fell down spiral stairs…not that far and i kinda slid/fell on my butt but still i get nervous if i have to use them.

    btw. LOVE the book stairs and drawer stairs. i never have enough storage! ;-)

    posted by alison on 10-11-2008 at 4:30 pm

  21. I think the hanging spiral staircases would seriously pose a problem to the morbidly obese.

    posted by Audball on 10-30-2008 at 3:42 pm

  22. I’m totally diggin’ the slide/stairs combo!

    posted by Record Relics on 10-12-2009 at 2:39 am

  23. Cool. That book-staircase would be something for me. Don’t know where to put my books anymore. Gabriella and Mattias’ staircase make me dizzy just looking at them.

    posted by Fida on 7-2-2010 at 2:04 am

  24. There is a Japanese TV show about renovating houses, and man are they good at utilizing space.

    posted by Joseph on 7-15-2010 at 6:31 am

  25. a good fix for the drawer stairs would be to make them flip top instead. you could still recess them for the same if not more space, and would be much safer…

    posted by unknown kadath on 7-20-2010 at 1:30 am

  26. I would build a house around these staircases. Amazing. Thanks for posting! :)

    posted by Sarah Samways on 7-22-2010 at 2:51 am

  27. those are indeed incredible stairs

    posted by sir jorge on 7-28-2010 at 12:26 am

  28. Loving the staircase drawers and bookshelf staircase! Would be a nightmare to clean though, I think.

    posted by David Peterson Garcia on 7-28-2010 at 9:53 am

  29. One of the more interesting intellectual challenges I’ve heard of is the invitation to describe a spiral staircase without using one’s hands (and, yes, I’m perfectly aware of the fact that I ended the phrase with a dangling participle). How might you do it?

    posted by Roger Cloud on 8-1-2010 at 9:22 pm

  30. The book shelf stairs are fantastic but I would add sliding Plexiglass panels to keep feet and dust out.

    posted by m. campbell on 8-2-2010 at 3:35 pm

  31. What if the sliders in the shelf-stair were at a slight angle? Then they would close with gravity.

    posted by Nate on 8-10-2010 at 12:09 am

  32. I meant drawer not the shelf stairs.

    posted by Nate on 8-10-2010 at 12:10 am

  33. Interesting collection. I like the idea of having drawers built into the staircase, a very clever use of space. Some of the others, while visually interesting, may be a bit of stretch.

    posted by Jeff on 8-10-2010 at 11:36 am

  34. The “miraculous staircase” was originally only supported by its connections at the top and bottom, but since having added the banister, there are supports exactly on the opposite side that this picture was taken from.

    posted by niky on 8-11-2010 at 8:07 am

  35. My best friend got married at the Loretto Chapel. It’s an amazing staircase. It’s blocked off so you can’t go up, but if you get married there you can take pictures on the lower few rungs of the staircase.

    posted by sumgrl on 8-15-2010 at 12:55 pm

  36. I also noticed an excess of cat fur on my stairs. I think it comes from the fact that my cats lay on the stairs a lot. I think they like the elevation to survey their domain :-p

    posted by FlowerPower on 8-16-2010 at 12:39 pm

  37. Ive been to the Winchester Mystery Mansion. She had workers build many many stair cases that didnt go anywhere in the house.There was a door outside of her house that had no intent of coming out or going in.

    posted by Ashley on 8-18-2010 at 9:15 pm

  38. wow!!! i want to have a house with a stair

    posted by mariano on 8-19-2010 at 10:46 pm

  39. I love the spiral staircase and slide -this is great. The floating steel steps look incredibly dangerous, I think this is a work of art, but as a practical part of a home I would reject it.

    posted by Max katz on 8-27-2010 at 11:21 am

  40. My favorite is the miraculous staircase. It is just beautiful.

    posted by David on 9-5-2010 at 3:02 am

  41. WOW, I feel like contracting a architect come artist and re-wamp my current staircase which all of a sudden seems EXTREMELY boring. Thanks for making me smile!

    posted by Vibeke on 9-28-2010 at 12:08 pm

  42. I was waiting for the Winchester Mystery House’s stairs to be mentioned! I used to work there. But the stairs to the ceiling are the least of it, there’s also the “Goofy” staircase that’s 40-some steps and seven complete turns to only travel 9 ft. up; the 7/11 staircase which is in the shape of a Y; and most of the staircases feature “easy risers,” that are stairs that are only one or two inches up to accomodate Sarah Winchester’s arthritis! Great article, very fascinating!

    posted by thedancingoboe on 10-3-2010 at 5:45 pm

  43. Great selection :) Nice work

    posted by Joseph on 10-5-2010 at 6:46 pm

  44. You should see the glass floating staircases our company built!

    posted by Erin on 10-8-2010 at 3:27 pm

  45. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmpBczSPdw8

    posted by Taylor on 10-13-2010 at 3:28 am

  46. I just love the book staircase. Need to start reading more…

    posted by Dean on 10-27-2010 at 3:34 pm

  47. There’s another strange staircase in the winchester mystery house. Sarah Winchester had terrible arthritis in her ankles, so almost all of the staircases in her home had steps that were only two inches up from eachother. Very difficult to walk up.

    posted by Rachel on 11-16-2010 at 7:53 pm

  48. This is absolutely amazing! Great Ideas!!!

    posted by Rachael on 1-12-2011 at 12:14 pm

  49. I think the bookcase stairs are fabulous. You all need to get rid of your cats, get a Swiffer duster and stop running up your stairs like galumptions.

    posted by Sean on 1-13-2011 at 11:29 pm

  50. I’ve been to the helix staircase when i was on my way to Arizona. It really didnt look like anything was holding it up! PLUS the handrails weren’t there originally!

    posted by Han on 1-14-2011 at 1:35 am

  51. I think the bookcase stairs are fabulous. You all need to get rid of your cats, get a Swiffer duster and stop running up your stairs like galumptions.

    posted by aynadan on 1-17-2011 at 4:59 am

  52. The bookcase stairs are wonderful, but my vision is a darker wood! Cats are dirty creatures (despite their constant grooming), so i’ll have to agree with aynadan! Get rid of the cats and fill the stairs with… books on cats! :)~ I know…I’m sure that wont fly! Really a gorgeous design!

    posted by NikeGirl on 1-21-2011 at 10:11 pm

  53. Ok I know i’ve seen the spiral stairs in some movie or tv show someone please remind me where or I will go crazy.

    posted by Nikki on 1-24-2011 at 12:16 am

  54. i do have to say the bookshelf staircase was ingenious…being able to but your books some where without compromising storage room. amazing. another amazing staircase is the Miraculus staircase…without support, how is that possible? people are amazing with their knowledge and ablity to create.

    posted by Linnt on 1-25-2011 at 10:19 pm

  55. I was also initially impressed with the bookshelf staircase until I read the comments about the cleaning issues. I hate cleaning myself, so maybe not for me, but still a VERY neat idea for a book lover with limited space and no cats, who likes to clean. (BTW I love my cat, so sending her packing just so I could have this staircase is not an option.)

    And the drawers? BRILLIANT! But definitely would want the self-closing drawers, or as others have suggested, hinged lids instead.

    Totally LOVE the spiral staircase with the slide, though. The slanted one, not for me, I’m a klutz.

    posted by Carole on 6-20-2011 at 2:41 pm

  56. @ thedancingoboe: I toured the Winchester house two years ago and thought I remembered them saying on the tour that that particular staircase was more likely a product of and older part of the house that just got covered over/closed off rather than a deliberate attempt to build a staircase into the ceiling. There was quite a lot of information thrown at us during the tour, so I could be remembering incorrectly (and not that there weren’t a lot of goofy things done deliberately, to be sure!).

    posted by Megan on 6-20-2011 at 10:35 pm

  57. The staircase at the end of The Exorcist is in Georgetown. Spooky at any time of the day!

    posted by Ken on 1-30-2012 at 5:11 pm

  58. I had friends who lived in a 100 year old house that they converted to a 2 family. Relatives lived upstairs. Just inside the front door the old grand ornate victorian era staircase went right up to a ceiling. They kept it there, intact, instead of wrecking it. The family upstairs used a different flight.

    posted by Tdave on 1-31-2012 at 4:52 am

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