15 (More!) Crafty Metal, Wood & Spiral Staircases

Stairs aren’t just a boring, utilitarian part of our homes and public buildings. They’re an opportunity for an architect to really make a statement and do something bold and distinctive. From staircases that float to stairs that fit in impossibly tiny spaces to staircases that go nowhere, this often-overlooked part of everyday architecture is being rethought by many designers and architects. You’ll see no beige-carpeted run-of-the-mill staircases here; these are some (more!) of the best, strangest, and most beautiful staircases in the world.

Lello Bookshop Stairs

These majestic and impressive stairs can be found in Lello Bookshop in Portugal. The sheer heft of this staircase is balanced nicely by the smooth flow of all of its shapes. The grand staircase begins as two sets of steps on the upper level, then the two become one when the entire staircase folds under itself to glide smoothly to the lower floor. The color and sturdy dimensions give the entire staircase an almost mouth-like appearance.

Steel Ribbon Staircase

This incredible design, believe it or not, is made from 10mm thick sheet metal, and there are no hidden suspensions keeping it aloft; just wall brackets and tension. The ribbon of sheet metal zigzags up the space to make the exposed staircase appear open, airy and mysterious. And best of all, the whole staircase is surprisingly sturdy. Designed by HSH Architects, the staircase is in the main living area of a home in Prague.

Umschreibung (Rewriting)

This crazy staircase to nowhere was commissioned by accounting firm KPMG in Munich in 2004. It was built by artist Olafur Eliasson and now stands in the courtyard of the KPMG building. Besides being an interesting focal point, it’s a functional staircase – if you consider traveling its pointless path “functional.” Although the stairs won’t actually get you anywhere, it’s probably a fun lunchtime break for the people who work in the building.

1M2 Stairs

For hopelessly tiny spaces where traditional stairs would take up too much precious floor real estate, EeDesign has a solution. These stairs fit into just over 1 meter of floor space to provide a passage to higher ground that’s basically like walking up a spiral ladder. They come in many colors and can be customized to fit each unique home and space.

The Gray Hotel Floating Stairs

The Gray Hotel in Milan is a stunning modern building designed by Florence architect Guido Ciompi. There are countless things to love about the building and its furnishings, but these floating stairs stand out. Obviously, one would need to be very careful when ascending them after a night of drinking, but their clean lines and unique design are unforgettable.

Staircase Slide

London architect Alex Michaelis may have discovered the quickest way to get the kids to come down for dinner: let them slide down. Alex let his kids have some input as to what features they wanted in the house he was building, and the staircase slide was one of them. It may not be the most practical design ever, but when the kids are happy, everyone’s happy.

Wheelchair-Accessible Stairs

For everyone who has ever gotten around in a wheelchair or pushed around a baby stroller, you know how frustrating it is to encounter a building with stairs and no ramp. Almost as bad are the steep, poorly-designed ramps that were simply tacked on later. The McCormick Tribune Campus Center in Chicago made a stylish compromise between stairs and ramp with this staircase that incorporates a zig-zagging ramp with the stairs. Of course, it looks like it might take more energy making all of those twists and turns than it would to just go up an ordinary ramp, but aesthetically it’s very sharp.

Floating Stairs

Unlike other floating stairs, this staircase by Bernstein Architecture doesn’t rely on wall brackets to support the steps. Instead, it uses a network of cables to hold each one aloft and completely motionless. According to the architect, the stairs don’t move even a little when they’re stepped on, even though they’re subject to very heavy traffic in their home inside the There TV office in Chicago.

Bookcase Box Stairs

While such a precarious-looking alternating tread stair design would probably never pass building code in America, this ingenious bookshelf staircase makes very good use of a small space. It comes from Czech architects Adam Jirkal, Jerry Koza and Tomáš Kalhous and resides in a house they remodeled in Všenory, Czech Republic.

Wall Stairs

When are stairs more like a door? When they glide smoothly into the wall, disappearing to prevent unwanted guests from wandering up to your home’s upper level. Though it’s just a concept, this disappearing staircase from designer Aaron Tang would be the perfect addition to any international spy’s house. It operates on interior pistons that drive the whole assembly out from the wall, then help each stair lower gently in a wave-like motion. The touch of a button opens or closes the stairs from either end of the staircase.

Villa Glittenberg Floating Stairs

These stairs reside in Villa Glittenberg, a family home on the west coast of Norway built by Saunders Architecture. The staircase is made of 1 cm-thick steel and weighs close to one metric ton. It is so massive that it had to be lifted into the home through a skylight with a special crane. The results are simply stunning, though, as the white stairs hovers above the ground and the residents seem to float up to the upper level.

Hidden Staircase Storage

Martino Gamper produces consistently elegant and distinctive custom furniture, and this under-staircase storage drawer system is a testament to his ability. In this beautiful English country home, Gamper installed an ingenious hidden storage staircase to give the occupants more room for storage and to use up some previously forgotten wasted space.

16th Ave Tiled Stairs

In the summer of 2005, the residents of the Golden Gates Heights neighborhood banded together to make a unique and long-lasting public art project: the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps. The risers of all 163 stairs (on city property) were decorated with mosaics that neighborhood volunteers assembled. The resulting mural is absolutely breathtaking, covering images from deep in the sea to high in the sky.

Wooden Library Stairs

These wooden library stairs are rich, full of character, and absolutely beautiful. The slats are made from spalted white birch and they were all cut from the same log. The cherry tree in the center is real, and it goes through the ceiling to emerge on the upper floor as the staircase’s newel post. The steel supports and mahogany handrails just add to the luxurious feeling of this amazing staircase.

Musical Stairs

Although it was only a temporary installation, these piano stairs deserve a mention based solely on the number of smiles they induced. The Fun Theory is a campaign from Volkswagen that’s focused on bringing a smile to everyday life. When they installed this piano keyboard in a Swedish train station, many more people than usual decided to take the stairs. The unexpected larger-than-life toy brought out the inner child of a lot of people during its short life.

Building Up An Appetite: Architecture With Good ‘Taste’

Hungry for some “tasteful” architecture? These 10 mouth-watering buildings may look delicious but their designs serve a greater purpose: to project a brand image that warms the heart (while aiming for the stomach).

Asahi Beer Hall, Tokyo, Japan

(images via: Arch/Cside and CIDA)

Rising from the shores of the languidly flowing Sumida river in Tokyo, Japan, are a pair of homages to another life-giving liquid: beer. Not only do the Azumabashi Hall and the taller Asahi Breweries Head Office look like glasses of beer, they are the center of the Asahi Breweries empire located on the spot where one of Japan’s signature beers has been brewed for over a century.

(images via: Tokyo Architecture and Lone Wolf – No Cub)

It’s the Azumabashi Hall, also known as the Asahi Super Dry Hall, that gets the lion’s share of attention however. Designed by architect Phillippe Starck and completed in 1989, the building is sheathed in black granite puntuated by portaholes representing bubbles rising in a mug of beer. The controversial Flame d’Or (golden flame) on the roof is, well, open to interpretation. Weighing 300 tons and built by a subcontractor who usually builds submarines, the distinctive sculpture has been likened to foam being blown off a frosty mug of draft, the fiery spirit of Asahi’s employees and… a giant turd.

Disney’s Orange Stinger, Anaheim, CA, USA

(images via: Desktops@Rocket9, Igougo and Orange County Register)

More of a ride than a workaday building, the Orange Stinger temporarily brightened up Paradise Pier at Disney’s California Adventure Park from 2001 through July of 2009. The Orange Stinger was a lot bigger than it looked from a distance as essentially it was a standard Wave Swinger style ride with a huge, semi-peeled orange built around it.

Albion House, Liverpool, UK

(images via: National Museums Liverpool and Vintage Lulu)

Formerly the White Star Line Building where the RMS Titanic and her sister ships were conceived and controlled, Liverpool’s Albion House (built 1896) sports a trendy for its time red brick & white Portland stone exterior that reminds even the most unsavory character of fresh, streaky bacon. Mmm, bacon… it’s a pity the mighty Titanic wasn’t covered in this most meme-tastic of foods; it would have slid right on past that fateful iceberg.

(image via: Pictures Of England)

Just like the state-of-the-art ships it directed across the seven seas, the White Star Line’s headquarters was a showcase of wealth, opulence and beauty. The shipping line never really recovered from the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 and by the mid-1930s the headquarters building stood vacant. It’s a testament to the foresight of Liverpool’s city fathers that this iconic building remains standing today.

Hood Milk Bottle Building, Boston, MA, USA

(images via: Chris Devers and Roadside America)

The 40-ft tall Hood Milk Bottle has stood proudly in front of the Boston Children’s Museum since 1977 but its history actually goes back to 1933. That’s when Arthur Gagner built the Coney Island style bottle to sell homemade ice cream beside his store in Taunton, MA. The building sat empty and abandoned from 1967 to 1977 and it’s a wonder it wasn’t destroyed by fire at some point in that lonely decade.

Easter Egg Museum, Ukraine

(images via: Travel West Ukraine and Highboom)

The Pysanka Museum was built in the year 2000 and is located in the Ukrainian city of Kolomyia. “Pysanka” is the Ukrainian word for richly decorated, batik Easter Eggs and the museum at Kolomyia is the only one in the world dedicated to this important cultural icon. The museum’s central hall measures 46 ft (14m) high by 33 ft (10m) wide, and is designed to resemble a classic Ukrainian Pysanka and is painted in traditional themes inside and out.

The Donut Hole, La Puente, CA, USA

(images via: LA Foodie)

The Donut Hole in La Puente is one of the few remaining examples of programmatic or mimetic architecture left in California, let alone the world. The need to attract newly mobile car-driving customers that arose in the first half of the 20th century has faded now that other advertising venues such as the Internet have taken over.

(image via: Wandrlust)

If the concept behind The Donut Hole isn’t surreal enough, how about the actual process of ordering: you literally drive into the unmapped, quantum space that exists inside a giant donut hole. Isn’t that how Voyager wound up 70,000 light years away in the Delta Quadrant?

The Pineapple, Dunmore, Scotland

(images via: NorthernXposure, Heritage UK and Undiscovered Scotland)

Designing buildings that look like food is not a new trend, as The Pineapple in Dunmore, Scotland, proves most eloquently. The pavilion was built in 1761 by John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, as a birthday present for his wife Susan. Judging from the vase-shaped chimneys along the roof of the pavilion, historians assume that many exotic plants were grown in greenhouses just beyond the outer wall. The 53ft tall Pineapple that rises above the pavilion was planned with the utmost care; each leaf drains separately so that seasonal freeze/frost cycles won’t damage the delicate masonry.

(image via: Undiscovered Scotland)

As for pineapples in Scotland? Not so strange – though first discovered by Columbus in 1493, pineapples had been grown in Scottish hothouses (a phrase you hear everyday) since the early years of the 18th century.

Fruity Bus Stops, Japan

(images via: Art Style Online)

These groovy bus stops from Japan are curiously empty but that just seems to add to their surreal appearance. One might expect the Cat Bus from Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro to pull up and, perhaps, begin nibbling on the shelter for a snack.

Food Building, Toronto, Canada

(images via: Ian Muttoo and Toronto Star)

(image via: Toronto Mike)

Amidst this review of buildings that look like food, one must digress for a moment to celebrate a building that is ABOUT food: The Food Building at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. A summertime fixture, the Food Building at the CNE (or “The Ex” to Hogtowners) is a must-see, must-eat attraction that’s a virtual showcase of tasty treats – and leave your PC nutritional guidelines at the door. By the way, be sure to stop by the Tiny Toms Donuts booth (since 1960) to watch ‘em being made and buy a fresh bag to chow down on!

Basket Building, Ohio, USA

(images via: Longaberger and Vineyard LC)

Why put up a billboard advertising your company’s wares when your company HQ can perform the same function more interestingly? That’s the philosophy behind The Longaberger Company’s headquarters building in Newark, Ohio. The family-owned business, likened to the Tupperware of baskets for their corporate and marketing methodology, built a giant, 7-story replica of a Longaberger Medium Market Basket to house their corporate offices and staff.

(image via: Bluffton)

Maybe the only thing employees working in what is essentially the world’s largest pic-a-nic basket is the arrival of the world’s largest bear.

To paraphrase that old TV tuna commercial, “Sorry Charlie, architects don’t want buildings with good taste, architects want buildings that taste good.” Well, no one will be biting into any of the above structures, unless Godzilla decides to take a bus or Homer Simpson gets hungry for donuts – again. Until then, enjoy these decidedly “tasteful” buildings if you can… just pack a lunch to enjoy afterwards.

Powerful Prosthetics: The Ultimate Integration of Design and Technology

Prosthetics have been used to replace lost limbs since there have been limbs to be lost; during this time, peg legs and crutches have transformed into power suits and robot arms. The prosthetic limb was once a static, inflexible mockery of what it was replacing. Today, incredible technology has gone into the science of prosthetics, making them elegant examples of technology and design that are awe inspiring. We are much closer to Science Fiction than you probably think. Your jaw will drop as you take a journey through the past, present, and future of prosthetic technology.

(Images via Africa Science, robot nine, mentalfloss)

Prosthetic toes made of wood were recently found on an Egyptian mummy (pictured above), and such ingenuity continues to be required in less technologically advanced areas of the world. Where a prosthetic limb was once carved out of wood, they can now be fashioned out of an old basketball and some sturdy paddles.

(Images via we-make-money-not-art, marvelironman)

No longer just an instrument to help the disabled recover functionality, some additions provide superior strength and stamina to the most fit individuals. An external suit can take the pressure off your limbs while carrying heavy bags, or help remove the stress of repetitive actions. No matter how they’re used, lurching power suits are incredibly appealing, as they dance close to the dream of bionic humans so often found in literature, film, and television.

(Images via boingboing, grinding, handicappedpets, treehugger)

Animals get hurt too, and people are always coming up with innovative ways to maintain quality of life for their furry friends. A broken leg used to be a death sentence for a horse, but now even a lost limb can be taken care of.

(Images via prosthetic limbs, virtualworldlets, nydailynews, geek)

Arguably the most difficult limb to replace is the arm, and by extension (literally), the hand. With an intricate weave of tendons and musculature allowing the most minute movements, early attempts to add functionality involved attaching a hook or wooden arm with the inability to move. From the revolutionary clasping motion, to the most modern neurally controlled arm in existence, the DEKA, prosthetics are progressing in sophistication at an incredible rate.

(Images via daylife, reason, wired)

People who lost legs once had to resign themselves to lives spent hobbling with crutches; this is no longer the case. The advancement of material strength and flexibility, and the departure from feet that look like feet, allow the disabled to run with incredible speed – so much so, that the paralympic games are investigating whether modern prosthetic legs provide an unfair advantage.

(Images via mlive, bcgolfnews, rexfoundation, cnet, walkingadspace)

Transportation for the disabled is difficult enough, but advances in sports technology are allowing people to maintain their hobbies despite any physical limitations. There are snowboards that hook directly into your prosthetic and special bikes usable even if you only have one leg. Innovations are consistently pushing the boundaries of what is and isn’t possible.

(Images via epitalizacion, science museum, hvmag)

If one were to step back only a scattering of decades, the difference in prosthetic technology would be astounding. The peg leg of our great grandparents holds no comparison to the alloy legs of today. Performers with peg legs used to be notable mostly for their uniqueness, much like a freak at the circus. Thankfully, society is no longer as close minded.

(Images via iraqnam, mental floss, red-eye, life2heal, listicles)

Mobility has long been the greatest hurdle for those who lose a leg (or two), but the variety of prosthetics is astounding. Some legs attempt to fool the eye by looking as realistic as possible, while others make no attempt to hide their function behind their form.

(Images via free republic, greendiary, science ahead)

Prosthetic hands now provide enough feedback to cradle an egg, and enough strength to grab and lift almost any object. The means of manipulation have changed as well – pulleys have been replaced by connections back to nerves on the body that allow one to control one’s limb just as they control their originals.

(Images via gizmodo, uwaterloo, artificial limbs, methodist rehab)

Their are over 26 bones in the human foot, and even removing one toe can cause issues with balance. With the amount of weight and stress placed each time you step down, and the need for feet to be able to bounce back without losing all of the energy pushing against the ground, designing a prosthetic foot is far from simple. Solutions range from the plodding mannequin foot and peg leg to the mechanically responsive and pnuematic.

(Images via coated, canadian space program, fast company, spike, gadget)

The future of prosthetics can be an enjoyable exercise in design that uniquely bridges the gap between the personal and the technological. The above photos are conceptual, but from what we’ve seen thus far, don’t seem to be out of reach. These designs will no doubt inspire the look of the next generation of prosthetics.

(Images via gandt, lbufano, dvice, stelarc)

The prosthetics link the technological and the personal, the inanimate with the human, in such a unique manner, that it’s the source of inspiration for a great number of artists. Lumbering man-machines and extra arms are the dreams of those without missing limbs, while the beauty and surreal natural of prosthetics are the source of a very different kind of art.

(Images via Gizmodo, BoingBoing, moolf)

Land animals having prosthetics is interesting, but not unexpected. Adding a missing limb or a wheel to a turtle or dog can be cute or inspirational, but adding a fin to a dolphin is just plain stunning. Wild birds and swimming creatures are not immune to the dangers of poachers and rogue boats, but fixing them is much more difficult, and even more amazing.

(Image via American Technology)

The evolution of the prosthetic limb is not far from the hopeful image above, and there is little doubt that technology and design inspiration will continue to push the boundaries of what we once thought possible.