When was the first staircase built

Literature, cinema, and painting are often a source of images associated with stairs and use staircases in various artistic narratives thanks to their extraordinary symbolic power. Some of the foremost famous film scenes set significant cinematic moments on or around staircases to reinforce the meaning of a scene and thus inspire grandeur, surprise, elegance, and beauty! Until the nineteenth century, stairs were the only form of transportation to higher levels, and even now, stairs are necessary for all buildings to provide a safe exit route in an emergency.

Pratiksha Mahakulkar is a third-year student pursuing architecture. An old school voracious reader and now explores her inner desire in writing out her mind and architecture. An impatient soul who can work efficiently when under pressure and approaching deadlines. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Participate Now.

Sign up Now. Author Pratiksha Mahakulkar Pratiksha Mahakulkar is a third-year student pursuing architecture. Evolution of South Asian Architecture July 24, Elements of ancient greek architecture July 16, Submerged Cities of the Past April 30, Evolution of architecture in Turkey February 27, Ship Ladders. Spiral Stairs. Straight Stairs. Start Designing Your Custom Staircase. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. The price was very reasonable and our new stairs are beautiful!

We highly recommend this company! So, when it comes to the shape of stairs, they have long been archetypes — forms or images that occur all over the earth! For thousands of years, stairs have been physical representations of power, achievement and enlightenment. From ancient times up to modernity, a staircase could often hold a significant meaning:. It is interesting how we transitioned from straight forward staircases that suggested an uncomplicated route, to spiral or twisted staircases,symbols of power or status, spiritual elevation and the climb to knowledge.

In this painting, the light of the sun symbolizes the consciousness of the philosopher, and the spiral staircase the path he needs to ascend to reach enlightenment. In literature, T. Getting to the top of stairs offers a broader and more comprehensive view of the world. The Renaissance Period 14 th to17 th centuries was the exponent of elegance and complexity for staircase architecture. This period meant a revival of ancient Greek and Romanculture, so artists and architects took symbolism one step further.

Grand curved and spiral stone stairs were prominent. They were mostly influenced by theater designers who conceived stairways to inspire a sense of power, achievement and enlightenment Templer, p. The sequence of the numbers 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34 , if visualized, makes a spiral.

The Golden Ratio was used to achieve balance and beauty in many Renaissance paintings and sculptures, Leonardo Da Vinci being one of the artists who made use of it. Almost every spiral staircase forms this sequence, meaning that when looked at from a particular angle, they give the illusion of a never-ending staircase. We all know the basic purpose of a staircase is merely utilitarian: it facilitates ascent and descent, i. Literature, cinema and painting are often a source of imagery related to stairs and use staircases in various artistic narratives due to their extraordinary symbolic power.

Some of the most famous film scenes set significant cinematic moments on or around staircases to enhance the meaning of a scene and therefore inspire grandeur, surprise, elegance and beauty!

But thanks to the duality of stairs, they can also inspire fear and horror, and that is why they have often set the scene for murders! The beauty of staircases is that they can do either — inspire aesthetic delight or hypnotic horror! Nature has inspired architects around the world to create astonishing structures, but there are also structures that cannot fit into the laws of nature. Therefore, mathematicians have found places for impossible structures to exist: in paintings or in dream-like worlds.

One example of that is a lithographic print by M. Escher done in Together, the different angles compose an impossible staircase. The Penrose staircase in this print shows repetitive, endless work, with absolutely no practical purpose or result.

In a letter to a friend, Escher explained his existentialist point of view:. Motion pictures are the ultimate place for impossible stairs, as it is through this medium that Penrose staircases acquired movement and, somehow, came to exist in 3D. To create the visual effects of Penrose steps, the stairs had to be built in such a way that when you view them from the highest level of the staircase, they should line up with the lowest level of the staircase.

Only with a special camera lens could this be achieved! Another example of Penrose steps in a motion picture are the moving staircases in Harry Potter. The staircases can literally swing ninety degrees from one position to the next. There had to be advanced levels of coordination between several teams in order achieve these visual effects and create the magic, while real life actors stood on a single staircase that moved hydraulically in front of a green screen.

Stairs in motion pictures are the only opportunity artists have to make stairs that would be impossible to achieve in real life come alive.

Not being bound by the laws of nature is an extravagance that only film, and special effects can provide. As for real-world staircases, they will always be bound by the limits of the human body! The architectural planning behind a staircase combines form and function, upper and lower space.

Not to mention the fact that stairs can make us trip and fall more often than you would imagine! In his comprehensive analysis of stairs, John Templer — Professor of Architecture at the Georgia Institute of Technology — also references research carried out over twenty years about slips, trips and falls on stairs.

In fact, the epidemic of stair-related deaths and injuries cannot be overlooked, and his influential books have contributed to raising awareness of the issue, which is especially visible in an increasingly ageing society.

At Stannah, we have been well aware of the epidemic of stair-related falls and injuries since we built our first stairlift, more than 40 years ago.