Inside the castles, the spiral staircases multiplied, apart from those that reached all the floors, some began to be built in the thickness of the walls, communicating only two floors, as overlapping apartments.įor a medieval architect, the staircase was functional, in no case was thought of as a theatrical element inside a palace. Little by little these vaults were suppressed, since, at the beginning of the thirteenth century, they began to build with larger stones. The “floor” ascended in a spiral, shaped like a dome and built with rubble, resting on the core and on the internal circular face. The oldest medieval spiral staircases were formed by a carved stone core, which gave form to the structure, surrounded by a circular wall also made of stone, like a tower. These stairs occupied very little space, allowed to place exits or doors at any point of their route, they were easily illuminated, and were easy to execute. Medieval architects had a preference for spiral staircases, as the one shown above, a staircase of the fourteenth century in the Château de Châteaudun drawn by Viollet-Le-Duc. The function of the spiral Gothic staircase This text proposes a tour through some historical examples that, in the West, also reflect what they meant for their designers and their users. Stressed between its formal resolution and the need for functionality, the staircase has had different roles throughout history. The staircase is thought as a space beyond the mere function even in domestic spaces such as Nirvana Home or Secret House.

In the architecture of AGi architects, staircases usually acquire an important role, as they are an opportunity to define a special transit between floors.

Staircases are one of the richest architectural elements in terms of formal possibilities, one of the most complex to solve geometrically, and one of the most demanding at the functional level.

The circular staircase book