Whether rising to the highest room of the tallest tower in a Disney-esque castle, giving an admirer the chance to confess their love on an apartment building fire escape, or connecting a basement or attic room with a decorative period feature, there’s something unavoidably romantic about spiral staircases. But there’s more function behind these coiling forms than just their good looks.
One common-held theory is that spiral staircases were first installed in historic castles as vertical baffles, tiring out enemy infiltrators before they could make it to the top. This is why – it is said – many are set to turn clockwise on the ascent, so attackers have a smaller arc for swinging weapons (mostly held in right hands) than defenders making their descent.
In truth, however, the real reasons behind the use of spiral staircases, either in castle strongholds or other ancient and historical instances, were probably much the same as they are in more modern times: the stability, simplicity, and space efficiency of their design. Whether the real reason is romance, aesthetics, or simply just functionality, here are some examples of spiral staircases from the romance capital of the world, Paris.
Related Article
How to Calculate Spiral Staircase Dimensions and Designs
The Romantic Decoration and Beautiful Curves of a Traditional Wrought Iron Spiral Staircase
Combining strength and durability with the malleability to form an intricate decorative silhouette, wrought iron – and any architectural features it is used to create such as balconies, balustrades, staircases, and handrails – is one of the most romantic materials. The way in which spiral staircases are designed, with their weight distribution easily balanced around one central column, makes it simple to create stable and durable yet also beautiful spiral staircases from the material. Meanwhile, the very nature of a spiral staircase to curve allows users to appreciate its form from all angles simultaneously.
Metal and Protected Spiral Staircases Used for Fire-Safe Emergency Egress and Access
Modern material innovations mean durable and, crucially, fire-safe spiral staircases can provide a secondary emergency escape route for large buildings – giving inhabitants as much time as possible to escape in the event of a fire. The combined strength and malleability of steel or aluminum, for example, allows fire escapes to commonly be attached to building exteriors with little additional structural support required.
For improved safety in large residential buildings with higher capacities, however, separate structures housing spiral staircases can be set apart from the main building, providing an extra layer of fire safety. At this 300-Unit Social Residence in the Paris suburb Coignières, for example, the additional architectural element of an emergency spiral staircase becomes a charming aesthetic feature, one commonly and positively associated with social housing architecture.
Spiral Staircases Used to Connect Exterior Spaces of Different Heights
Set at the rear of the main home in this 3 Houses project in Colombes, a northeast suburb of Paris, an exterior spiral staircase brings secondary access to the property’s first floor and main living space. However, the outside stairs add more than just another emergency egress point. By connecting a raised balcony terrace to the small garden, the staircase invites the patio terrace to become part of the garden landscape. Alongside the Juliet balconies set in front of all of the homes’ windows, the height differential of the outdoor space brings a romantic aesthetic to the Shakespearean outdoor scene.
Independent Exterior Access for Multi-Use Structures
By positioning an extra level on top of the Sainte Madeleine Sophie Barat’s Chapel in Charenton-Le-Pont, Paris, architects Tectône and their clients Emmaus – an organization that provides formally homeless people with a home and workplace at a thrift store on the same site – have added eight independent bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, to the top floor.
With access to the second floor provided only by an exterior spiral staircase, it allowed the architects to maximize the space inside and increase the building’s capacity. The staircase, which has entry points at the ground, first, and second floors, offers independent access to its residents’ apartments, without the need to pass through the store below.
Small Apartments of Paris Benefit From a Smaller Spiral Staircase Footprint
With part of a spiral staircase’s total stepping surface positioned above or below the rest of it, the entire surface area is most often less than that of standard straight staircases, making them especially convenient for the typically small apartments of Paris. Meanwhile, there are other spatial advantages caused by the alternate geometry of a spiral staircase’s footprint, too.
At vertical homes with narrow footprints, for example, such as the Bergeyre House in Paris’ 19th arrondissement, where a romantic seven-story spiral staircase – bursting with modernist beauty – joins each level together by sacrificing a corner of the apartment rather than an entire length of wall. Meanwhile, at the Housing and Ateliers project in Rue Polonceau in the 18th arrondissement, a spiral staircase is chosen as it’s the only way to viably connect the main living space on the ground floor in one small apartment, with a minuscule storage area at basement level, and also with a tiny bedroom above.
Spiral Staircases Connecting Stories Across Paris in Large Buildings and Small Apartments
300-Unit Social Residence in Coignières / Atelier Téqui Architects
3 Houses / NOVO architectures
From old Chapel to Thrift Shop and Social Housing / Tectône
Bergeyre House / AJILE architects
Housing and Ateliers in Rue Polonceau / YUA studio d’architecture
8 Housing Units in Rue Jean-Bart / Jean-Christophe Quinton architecte
14 Social Housing Units / mobile architectural office
Villa Virtue / Haddock Architecture
Staying in Paris - One surélévation à Paris / Java Architecture
Find these Parisian projects with spiral staircases in this Archdaily folder, created by the author.
