World’s Most Famous Staircases

Here’s some world famous staircases!

Behind each great building’s decorative front door you can bet there is a great lavish staircase. Of course they’re not your average staircase. Although it’s not always the grandest staircases that gather the admirable eyes. Sometimes it can be the more unusual, or even the downright dangerous.

Chand Baori Stepwell

This beautiful feat of architecture has something of a M.C. Escher feel. It was constructed in the year 800AD by King Chanda as an attempt to conserve as much water as possible due to the area’s arid environment.

Air near the foot of the well is around 5^oc cooler than at the top. So it became frequented by locals of Rajasthan during hotter spells in the region. The unusual architecture of the wall, well and steps has made it a perfect exotic location for shooting films such as The Fall, as well as The Dark Knight Rises.

Le Centre Pompidou, Paris

The unusual steps on the outer side of the Pompidou Centre are indicative of the technological focus in design of the time. The building was opened in 1977 and was described by The New York Times as having “revolutionised museums, transforming what had once been elite monuments into popular places of social and cultural exchange.”

The building contains the largest museum of modern art in Europe, a public library, the Public Information Library and the IRCAM, a centre for music research.

The Inca Trail, Peru

The Inca Trail consists of a series of precariously lain steps and staircases. They were originally used as an ancient trade route linking Cuzco to Machu Pichu. Due to the nature of the area and the surrounding landscape, travellers were forced to make detours through some pretty not-for-stairlift locations! With some floating stairs built into the side of the hill, bringing the trekker out and over the edge of the hills and above a knee-knockingly steep drop.

Taihang Mountains, Linzhou

Warning: You must be under 60 years old to ride this ride!
That is the warning that genuinely comes with the Taihang Mountain staircase. Those who wish to venture up the 300ft structure must sign a disclaimer to state that they are under 60. Also, that they do not have any lung or heart conditions which might inhibit them scaling the tower. There’s something satisfying thinking about the scale of the stairlift that we could install in there. Although I imagine you may be a whole year older by the time you get to the top!

Umschreibung, Munich

These steps don’t quite serve the same utilitarian purpose as the ancient Inca Trail or the Taihang Mountain staircase. But they look pretty spectacular. Designed by Olafur Eliasson, a Danish artist. The steel double spiral staircase stretch nine metres into the air before returning to the ground. It ascends nine metres, before returning to the ground, before ascending nine metres, before returning again! An on and on!

There’s some amazing looking staircases we have had the pleasure of looking at in this post! But you can’t help but spare a thought for the health and safety officer in charge! Imagine trying to install a stairlift in the Chand Baori Stepwell! It could end up taking as long as the original construction.

We take great pride in the work we do at UK Stairlifts, offering a speedy and effective stairlift service through our team of dedicated professionals. Whilst your home may not quite have echoes of an Inca trail, we understand that sometimes the ascent up your stairs can sometimes be tricky. One of our sleek staircases can alleviate the stresses attached to climbing your stairs and can be carefully chosen and designed to remain in-keeping with your home, so that your style needn’t be compromised. To learn more of our stairlifts for sale, as well as the services we offer, speak to one of our friendly team of professionals by contacting us on 0800 046 3438 where we can help to put your mind at ease.