Staircases facilitate transit and movement within cities, influencing how communities interact and navigate their urban surroundings. Despite often going unnoticed within the cityscape, these staircases are significant witnesses to history. Beyond their architectural function, they are essential connectors, providing spaces where the pulse of urban life unfolds. Amidst buildings, hills, slopes, and bustling streets, staircases emerge as dynamic stages for movements, encounters, and disconnections, intertwining with the narratives embedded in each step.
Before the advent of other mechanical transportation modes like elevators, inclined planes, and cable cars, staircases were vital in connecting various topographical and structural levels within a city. They served not only as a means of facilitating mobility but also significantly influenced the overall urban organization, shaping accessibility to different areas. Whether in the grand staircases of ancient civilizations or the more modest versions found in modern urban centers, these structures have been integral to the development of cities. They serve as lasting landmarks, demonstrating functionality while embodying a place’s history and cultural identity.
Apart from their primary function and practicality, staircases also serve broader and multifaceted roles in the daily life of cities. They act as spaces for social interaction, where people gather and part ways, conversations take place, and the urban landscape can be contemplated, making the city’s rhythm palpable. Staircases can evolve into stages for various cultural activities, hosting craft fairs, local musicians, street artists, and dance groups. In these settings, these spaces transform into improvised arenas where art seamlessly merges with everyday life.
From an aesthetic standpoint, staircases serve as elements that add uniqueness to urban landscapes. The interweaving and ascending arrangement of steps, the lines, and colors comprising their railings, and how they capture sunlight during the day or are illuminated at night all contribute to the overall aesthetics of the city. Well-designed staircases enhance the surrounding landscape and serve as independent works of art. This highlights the significance of considering aesthetics in the design and preservation of urban elements.
Therefore, staircases go beyond their primary role of linking various city levels. They serve as witnesses to urban life, documenting encounters and becoming spaces where local culture is etched onto the steps of time. The contours, shapes, and colors of staircases act as visible narratives, reflecting the history and culture of cities and resonating with the footsteps of past and present generations.
Next, we have selected five urban staircase projects:
Ladeira da Barroquinha / Metro Arquitetos Associados
"The new design for Ladeira da Barroquinha in the centre of Salvador is an extension of the public space renovations for the Glauber Rocha Theatre and the Gregorio de Mattos Foundation cultural area based at Barroquinha Church. Apart from being the connection between these two institutions, the project organizes the entrances to the buildings that face the slope at different levels and also considers the tranquil flow of customers that attend the local street market with the intense pedestrian flow towards the bus terminal."
Escadinhas Footpaths / Paulo Moreira Architectures
"Lasting a year, the process brought together a multidisciplinary team of architects, local builders, artists, and an extensive network of partners. In the first phase of the building work, the steps leading to Rua das Escadinhas, an unusual urban device connecting the upper and lower levels of the western hill of Monte Xisto, were rehabilitated. The steps and handrail were repaired and a new boundary between the public steps and the private land adjoining them were created in the form of benches, allowing the stairs to be used as a resting place."
The Stairs / MVRDV
"The building at the heart of this installation is the Groot Handelsgebouw – one of the first major buildings to be erected following the extensive bombing of Rotterdam in World War II. According to the practice, the scaffolding system used to construct the staircase represents "a nod" to the 75th anniversary of the rebuilding of the city following this disaster."
Escadaria e Mirante Vela / External Reference Architects
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The project was conceived as a tectonic element deriving its morphology from the formations of salt crystals growing in small water reservoirs of the Mediterranean, captured by the irregularities and accidents of the marine rocks. Building on this phenomenon, the staircase "crystallizes" in the corner created by the meeting point of the Barcelona coastline promenade with the protective dike that shields it from the onslaught of the sea waves.
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Cabral Lookout / Cidade Quintal
"In the daily lives of residents, it is a stopping point for rest after a long climb. For children living nearby, it is a place for play, as the neighborhood square is in the lowland. (...) The plateau became the widest space of the lookout, ideal for presentations and recordings. A staircase that was already there was used, from where it is possible to have privileged angles for filming and photographic rehearsals, as well as serving as a grandstand from where you can see the paintings and the view."
*The excerpts were taken from the respective project description.
