The Staircase: The Architecture of Ascent traces one of architecture's most charged elements across centuries and cultures, from Mayan stepped pyramids to computer-aided contemporary structures — demonstrating how a utilitarian device became a primary site of artistic and technological ambition.
About This Book
No architectural element carries more symbolic weight than the staircase. It is simultaneously structural necessity, spatial drama, and cultural statement — freighted with religious, hierarchical, and mystical meaning across every era of building. This volume surveys the full sweep of staircase design history, moving from the monumental geometry of pre-Columbian pyramids through the exquisite proportions of Renaissance masterpieces, the organic sweep of Art Nouveau, the restrained functionalism of the Bauhaus, and into the parametric possibilities of contemporary practice. Specialist architectural historians provide the written surveys, while a substantial body of photography — much of it commissioned specifically for this publication — gives the subject the visual depth it demands.
Key Features
- 324 pages of specially commissioned photography and specialist architectural history surveys
- Contributions by Oscar Tusquets Blanca, Martine Diot, Adelaïde de Savray, Jérôme Coignard, and Jean Dethier
- Published by Thames & Hudson
What You'll Discover
- How staircase design evolved from the stepped pyramids of the Maya through the Renaissance, Baroque, Art Nouveau, Bauhaus, and into digital-age fabrication
- The religious, mystical, and hierarchical symbolism embedded in staircase architecture across different periods and cultures
- The technical complexity behind even the simplest stair — and how knowledge, skill, and ingenuity converge in its resolution
- How contemporary computer-aided design has expanded the formal possibilities of the staircase into wholly new structural and spatial territory
About the Author
This volume brings together essays by five specialist contributors: Oscar Tusquets Blanca, Martine Diot, Adelaïde de Savray, Jérôme Coignard, and Jean Dethier. Each author contributes a focused survey drawn from their area of architectural-historical expertise.
Specifications
- Format: Hardcover
- Pages: 324
- Dimensions: 256 x 338 mm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9780500517093
- Publisher: Thames & Hudson
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Architects and interior designers with an interest in architectural history and detail, students of design history, and collectors drawn to large-format survey works on the built environment.