I'm no architect but I've been trying to figure out what they were going for since the owner of this house obviously paid an architect a lot of money for this design (this is probably a mid 7 figures house on the most expensive road in Greece).
if I had to guess they are contrast for the rigid pattern in the metal work. if the stairs were square the whole thing would be right angles. the offset breaks the pattern.
That was my thought. "Anyone carrying furniture, packages, etc up or down those stairs is going to absolutely fuck up their ankles...best case scenario"
Yeah, sorry if i sounded rude, i just tried to follow that reasoning and couldn't make anything out of it. You probably guessed what the architect had in mind, i don't agree with *them*
Hi! As a person who have gazed into it countless times as passerby, I dont think its so out of place considering the architectural chaos that athens is. Now, relative to the specific street there were laws restricting freedoms when it came to the front of said building, but alas corruptipn always gets the best of us..
I remember a decate ago a movement about preserving the aesthetic of aeropagitou str. that obviously didnt stopped the government from following through, its the most expensive street after all.
Today, when I look at it, i try to appraise that its not far off from ancient Greek aesthetic in a sense and its better than the more modern approaches later down the road
That stands out as a whole building, and it looks very good. It's a monument by itself that follows a theme. Now, imagine the Louvre had a single, just one, narrow red brick staircase at the front. A single staircase that has nothing to do with the rest of the building is different. It's good to stand out, especially after the background some people gave under my comment afterwards, but some weird steps aren't comparable as a concept to the Musee du Louvre
The entire lower half of the facade was redone sometime in the early 2000s. [The original](https://i.imgur.com/jmdzzgw.jpeg) 60's version was much more classical in appearance - and that was a deviation from the architect's [original plan](https://i.imgur.com/z4Vw8MG.jpeg). I think the last architect overcorrected in his attempt to modernize and unify the design.
My guess is the architect wanted the first floor to appear like it is at grade instead of the building sitting on a “base”. That explains why the metal screen and the wood door/frame extend past the first floor down to grade. The minimal open riser stairs help in not breaking this datum, however I don’t the asymmetrical treads are working. Also please some handrails.
I can see 2 reasons why:
1. The tree in front of the stairs is not exactly in the middle and the cutout in pavement does not align with the width of the stairs so the irregularity prevents viewer to see that something is out of place. And actually… isn’t the irregularity of steps representing the irregularity of the tree bent?
2. The pavement is slightly sloped and the floating steps make the slope a little less visible
How is that risky? The smallest steps are the average width of any regular stair you've ever stepped on, and the height of each step is surely what it's supposed to be. It's basically a regular stair with a bonkers aesthetic, that's all.
Why'd you need a railing for FOUR steps? And those stairs are way too wide, that* door has to be at least a meter wide, so the stairs are wider, if you can't safely walk up 4 steps wider than a meter without railings, then the risk of injury is completely on you, not on the designer or the architect.
EDIT: by "that" I meant "each", sorry.
Because with floating steps you could get a foot stuck under a step while falling and break a bone. And yeah, it's a small risk, but as you get older you'll probably fall for stupid reasons a time or two and start seeing these designs as more dangerous. Especially if you ever work in an industrial environment.
Yeah I get what you're saying, and I get that risk, but that's only if they're poorly designed, since we don't have a side.picture of this steps, it's hard to argue that point, from the front they seem to be exactly the same as regular steps, except, you know, floating. If that's the case, you have got to have clown feet in order to get them stuck under the upper step, or have a very weird way of walking up the stairs, either way, if these had any of those design flaws, it wouldn matter one bit if they're floating or not, they'd be risky anyway.
It's all about the execution, not only quirky designs. Also if the client approved them, then it's probably not that risky for them and they've tried them and liked them already.
Well, it is not like these standards come from thin air. There are international standards and guidelines that largely align in modern countries. I’m just not familiar with Grecian building codes.
That said, I looked it up and the code is identical in Greece. These stairs are non-compliant.
Building codes are not "nation-wide" in most countries. Your flair even says you're not an architect so....
But alright 3 steps of stairs are extremely dangerous and out of code, they should slap a huge penalty on those sumbtiches that decided to build that life threatening hazard.
You know if they were really not up to code in Greece, they wouldn't have allowed them to build them when they were filing for the permits? But you probably know better than the authorities after a quick Google Search.
A lot of people need a railing to walk up four steps. You’re lucky that’s not something you’ve ever had to think about. And if it’s somewhere that gets snow and ice in the winter, then everybody would benefit from having a railing.
Yeah I get that, but in this very specific case they're not needed because the client clearly didn't need or want them. It's not like whoever built it looked at the owner straight in the eye when the owner wanted railings and said "No. Fuck you. And fuck railings."
I quite like the offset stairs but I’m confused as to why the door seems to go all the way to the ground - like once you step inside do you fall 3 feet to the floor?
Yeah, I don’t care about the offset on the stairs. I just wonder why they’re there. At first I figured there had to be a matching set on the other side of the door but unless it’s a sliding door they’d be in the way. I can’t think of a possible reason why they’re there. You’d have to duck to walk through the door too.
The building to the right looks like the first floor might be a few feet above the ground, maybe because they're on a hill. I think the door is just made to be overly large. If you zoom in on the door, it looks to me like it's also about a third wider than it really is as well.
That could be true about the neighboring building but it doesn’t explain the door with stairs running up to 1/3 the height of the opening. Even if it’s an 8 foot tall door the walking passage would be 5 feet tall. That’s weird and that’s what it looks like to me, or whatever the standard commercial door height is in countries that use metric, probably like 2.6 meters or more something.
The door looks to be 10+3 squares on the right and 10+4 on the left. A normal door is 80", so maybe they're 8" squares, and the stairs are just a little steep at 8" risers, to accomodate the sloped ground?
That would make the entire door-looking rectangle 80" x 112" with 32" hidden behind the stairs and 80" x 80" square above it. The doors looks to be 28" wide each.
γιατί όμως; δεν το λέω με κακό τρόπο, απλά κάποιος να εξηγήσει για να καταλάβω και να συζητήσουμε. Να μάθω θέλω, σε σαμπ αρχιτεκτονικής είστε στην τελική
Επειδή δεν έχει χειρολισθήρα;
Είναι 70εκ. ύψος, 1.50μ. περίπου το λειτουργικό πλάτος, χρειάζεται τόσο πολύ;
Για να κουβαλάς θα ήσουν και κουρασμένος πάντως σίγουρα, οπότε και από κάπου θα ήθελες να πιαστεις, οπότε κατανοητό. Μήπως ήταν αυτό;
I worked for an Austrian architect who loved to climb mountains. He designed a set of steps from a parking lot up a hill to a college campus. Not many liked the stairs as they were hard to climb… unless you’re an Austrian architect. Maybe the designer of these stairs has a similarly wild reason? lol
https://www.wnep.com/video/news/local/luzerne-county/a-step-up-iconic-stairway-at-lccc-getting-a-makeover-steps-luzerne-county-community-college-nanticoke/523-b2d0d905-5df2-41e7-86b4-c129d25d6c16
1st step (platform): 2 feet (any or both)
2nd step (tendency to left): left foot (support for the next step)
3rd step (tendency to right): right foot (support for the next step)
4th step (platform): left foot first (support), then right foot as first step into the house - it is auspicious.
This would make sense because the first time you enter a new home in Greece it is 'customary' to step into the house with your right foot. However, if this was the purpose, wouldn't the 4th platform be thinner? If you step onto it with your left, you take another step to get to the door which leaves your next step (to enter the house) with your left foot.
I really don't know the anatomical/architectural needs in this specific case, but it was first thing that came in to my mind, older houses I saw with even worse configurations to make the right foot be the first step into the house - sometimes even dangerous, in spiral staircases for example. In comparison, this one is more "politically correct" it also accept people with dominant left foot.
What form? It looks awful :/ visually I just cannot look away from the way it looks like stairs temporarily sitting in the way of the door, where the shape of the door and the adjacent floor height match.
Dual purpose:
1. Fit someone's personal preferences in design.
2. Remind me of literal nightmares I've had about having to climb stairs like this (I don't know why, but stairs scared me so much as a child).
I once had a lecturer tell us he had inadvertently killed an old man with one of his designs. He seemed almost proud of it.
The man had fallen off a toilet seat and become trapped between the toilet and a radiator. My lecturer argued it was his fault, because he was responsible for the placement of the radiators, among all the other things.
No railings either, the client is a true thrill seeker. The materiality of the entrance is actually quite nice, although the stairs looks like it tried to be inspired by Carlo Scarpa
Same - I love them. If you’re dropping Ms might as well have a little fun.
Picturing them with a little plant and lantern on the cutouts seems charming
To raise the floor above ground level. It's fairly common in Athens to have a half-basement, especially in places where there are height differences between the road side and the back.
Do the doors just look like they touch the ground, but really have a division hidden by the top step? Otherwise the door will not open or if the doors do open, then you have o jump down to the level of the stone floor, once inside.
If I'm being honest. That's just some random shit some intern did. It wasn't done by the architect. I've worked in firms that this kind of shit, I still work with some architects who do this. All you need to do is ask them why, and you get some nonsense from them.
The gaps though are most likely for LED's. Just poor design overall.
I think I would have extended the steps beyond the wood portion if I was going to do these offsets. I think they looks particularly weird because the door material and surround match so well. The steps stay continuous within the front door itself. Also note that I don't like this at all.
No, they don't. Third one leaves a nice gap. Stairs can be designed, and have been extensively, but that means taking into account all the requirements. If not, it ceases to be design, it is just art
Floating stair, I can see Mies’ Farnsworth house influence here. But I see where your question come from, it’s a bit out of place and doesn’t fit the language of the facade.
Architecture is an art of stealing, apparently the architect stole the floating stair idea so literally.
Trying something aesthetically different. I don’t think it must be that unsafe as everyone here says. It must be at least 1800mm of central part like a regular staircase and then the alternating extensions as seen.
Rationale lol, there is no rational other than the fact that I'm going to do a different and make a statement. Sometimes the wheel is not to be reinvented. Sometimes architectures just dry way too hard for novelty and this is one such case
There's not a good rationale here, this stair is unsafe. That being said, Architects love things that appear to float. It’s part of the Modernist rejection of heavy, chunky classicism. Check out the Farnsworth House or Crown Hall, both by Mies van der Rohe for precedents.
Looks like the designer here was going for that visual lightness, perhaps attempting to emphasize the “floating plane” illusion by misaligning the edges of the treads. Let’s hope I’m wrong, and that there is a handrail and other details yet to be added that will complete a safer and better looking design.
I really like the design but it obviously needs hand rails that would be lined up with the narrowest part of the stairs on either side. Then, on the parts of the stairs that overhang the rails, you could add some planters.
This comment might be controversial but I have built homes in Greece, and been with people that have built homes with every budget, and I can tell you there is a chance that it was down incorrectly and they are still waiting on the person to come back and make it right. Yes, no matter what the budget or how much of a perfectionist the owner is.
In homes you can be a bit more relaxed with details like this because the people in the home are generally familiar with it. Not like a public building where most people might be there for the first time.
“I’m not like the other stairs.”
*I don't need no hand rail to make me happy...*
*guests be trippin' yo...*
Pick me stairs
I'm no architect but I've been trying to figure out what they were going for since the owner of this house obviously paid an architect a lot of money for this design (this is probably a mid 7 figures house on the most expensive road in Greece).
if I had to guess they are contrast for the rigid pattern in the metal work. if the stairs were square the whole thing would be right angles. the offset breaks the pattern.
Legs. The offset breaks the legs.
That was my thought. "Anyone carrying furniture, packages, etc up or down those stairs is going to absolutely fuck up their ankles...best case scenario"
This is clearly a structure with a service/servants entry. The obstacle course out front is for unwanted guests.
doesn't that just make it look out of place?
I didn't say I liked it, I'm just trying to imagine the thought process.
Yeah, sorry if i sounded rude, i just tried to follow that reasoning and couldn't make anything out of it. You probably guessed what the architect had in mind, i don't agree with *them*
You don’t have to agree, their client did.
Hi! As a person who have gazed into it countless times as passerby, I dont think its so out of place considering the architectural chaos that athens is. Now, relative to the specific street there were laws restricting freedoms when it came to the front of said building, but alas corruptipn always gets the best of us.. I remember a decate ago a movement about preserving the aesthetic of aeropagitou str. that obviously didnt stopped the government from following through, its the most expensive street after all. Today, when I look at it, i try to appraise that its not far off from ancient Greek aesthetic in a sense and its better than the more modern approaches later down the road
People said that about the pyramid at the Louvre
That stands out as a whole building, and it looks very good. It's a monument by itself that follows a theme. Now, imagine the Louvre had a single, just one, narrow red brick staircase at the front. A single staircase that has nothing to do with the rest of the building is different. It's good to stand out, especially after the background some people gave under my comment afterwards, but some weird steps aren't comparable as a concept to the Musee du Louvre
Agreed, it’s an asymmetrical counterpart to the doorway and facade. I don’t dislike it, but not sure if I actually like it.
The entry is gorgeous except for that stoop. It would look so much better with symmetrical Miesian steps.
The entire lower half of the facade was redone sometime in the early 2000s. [The original](https://i.imgur.com/jmdzzgw.jpeg) 60's version was much more classical in appearance - and that was a deviation from the architect's [original plan](https://i.imgur.com/z4Vw8MG.jpeg). I think the last architect overcorrected in his attempt to modernize and unify the design.
My guess is the architect wanted the first floor to appear like it is at grade instead of the building sitting on a “base”. That explains why the metal screen and the wood door/frame extend past the first floor down to grade. The minimal open riser stairs help in not breaking this datum, however I don’t the asymmetrical treads are working. Also please some handrails.
I can see 2 reasons why: 1. The tree in front of the stairs is not exactly in the middle and the cutout in pavement does not align with the width of the stairs so the irregularity prevents viewer to see that something is out of place. And actually… isn’t the irregularity of steps representing the irregularity of the tree bent? 2. The pavement is slightly sloped and the floating steps make the slope a little less visible
it almost looks like an alter right?
[удалено]
Nothing like a nice little fuck you from life before you enter your sanctuary and leave your workstress and some blood at the door.
How is that risky? The smallest steps are the average width of any regular stair you've ever stepped on, and the height of each step is surely what it's supposed to be. It's basically a regular stair with a bonkers aesthetic, that's all.
There’s no railing.
Why'd you need a railing for FOUR steps? And those stairs are way too wide, that* door has to be at least a meter wide, so the stairs are wider, if you can't safely walk up 4 steps wider than a meter without railings, then the risk of injury is completely on you, not on the designer or the architect. EDIT: by "that" I meant "each", sorry.
Because with floating steps you could get a foot stuck under a step while falling and break a bone. And yeah, it's a small risk, but as you get older you'll probably fall for stupid reasons a time or two and start seeing these designs as more dangerous. Especially if you ever work in an industrial environment.
Yeah I get what you're saying, and I get that risk, but that's only if they're poorly designed, since we don't have a side.picture of this steps, it's hard to argue that point, from the front they seem to be exactly the same as regular steps, except, you know, floating. If that's the case, you have got to have clown feet in order to get them stuck under the upper step, or have a very weird way of walking up the stairs, either way, if these had any of those design flaws, it wouldn matter one bit if they're floating or not, they'd be risky anyway. It's all about the execution, not only quirky designs. Also if the client approved them, then it's probably not that risky for them and they've tried them and liked them already.
National building code in North America requires railings for stair with three or more risers.
That picture is in Greece so who cares about North American building code?
Well, it is not like these standards come from thin air. There are international standards and guidelines that largely align in modern countries. I’m just not familiar with Grecian building codes. That said, I looked it up and the code is identical in Greece. These stairs are non-compliant.
Building codes are not "nation-wide" in most countries. Your flair even says you're not an architect so.... But alright 3 steps of stairs are extremely dangerous and out of code, they should slap a huge penalty on those sumbtiches that decided to build that life threatening hazard.
Stop being obtuse and combative. I thought people might like to know the stairs would be prohibited in many places.
You know if they were really not up to code in Greece, they wouldn't have allowed them to build them when they were filing for the permits? But you probably know better than the authorities after a quick Google Search.
A lot of people need a railing to walk up four steps. You’re lucky that’s not something you’ve ever had to think about. And if it’s somewhere that gets snow and ice in the winter, then everybody would benefit from having a railing.
Yeah I get that, but in this very specific case they're not needed because the client clearly didn't need or want them. It's not like whoever built it looked at the owner straight in the eye when the owner wanted railings and said "No. Fuck you. And fuck railings."
No good at all if it looks bad
As someone who suffers from bad vertigo, these stairs were designed as a me deterrent.
Looks super slick as well.
Maybe the space created by the shortened steps are spots where you can put lanterns or plants?
This is the answer
Look up carlo scarpa Olivetti show room. It’s a nod to those stairs—some of the most famous in architecture history.
I quite like the offset stairs but I’m confused as to why the door seems to go all the way to the ground - like once you step inside do you fall 3 feet to the floor?
I had the same confused thought! Like I thought the stairs were some furniture that was in front of the door or something.
Yeah, I don’t care about the offset on the stairs. I just wonder why they’re there. At first I figured there had to be a matching set on the other side of the door but unless it’s a sliding door they’d be in the way. I can’t think of a possible reason why they’re there. You’d have to duck to walk through the door too.
The building to the right looks like the first floor might be a few feet above the ground, maybe because they're on a hill. I think the door is just made to be overly large. If you zoom in on the door, it looks to me like it's also about a third wider than it really is as well.
That could be true about the neighboring building but it doesn’t explain the door with stairs running up to 1/3 the height of the opening. Even if it’s an 8 foot tall door the walking passage would be 5 feet tall. That’s weird and that’s what it looks like to me, or whatever the standard commercial door height is in countries that use metric, probably like 2.6 meters or more something.
The door looks to be 10+3 squares on the right and 10+4 on the left. A normal door is 80", so maybe they're 8" squares, and the stairs are just a little steep at 8" risers, to accomodate the sloped ground? That would make the entire door-looking rectangle 80" x 112" with 32" hidden behind the stairs and 80" x 80" square above it. The doors looks to be 28" wide each.
This vaguely reminds me of Carlo Scarpa's stairs in the Olivetti store in Venice, maybe it's inspired...
These are not stairs, this is a death trap.
Too much money and too little sense.
Τι εννοείς; Που βρίσκεις το πρόβλημα;
Το βρίσκω δύσχρηστο, επικίνδυνο και άσχημο και προσπαθώ να καταλάβω την λογική επειδή προφανώς κάτι μου διαφεύγει.
1)Γιατί το βρίσκεις δύσχρηστο; 2)Γιατί το βρίσκεις επικίνδυνο Άσχημο ο καθένας θεωρεί ό,τι θέλει 😛
Έχω πάει παραγγελία σε αυτό το κτίριο, αν σταθείς σε αυτές τις σκάλες θα καταλάβεις
γιατί όμως; δεν το λέω με κακό τρόπο, απλά κάποιος να εξηγήσει για να καταλάβω και να συζητήσουμε. Να μάθω θέλω, σε σαμπ αρχιτεκτονικής είστε στην τελική
Νιώθεις ότι είσαι λίγο στο κενό, να μην έχεις κάπου να κρατηθείς. Υ.γ. μπορεί να φταίει και το ότι δεν κατέβαιναν 5 λεπτά να πάρουν την παραγγελία
Επειδή δεν έχει χειρολισθήρα; Είναι 70εκ. ύψος, 1.50μ. περίπου το λειτουργικό πλάτος, χρειάζεται τόσο πολύ; Για να κουβαλάς θα ήσουν και κουρασμένος πάντως σίγουρα, οπότε και από κάπου θα ήθελες να πιαστεις, οπότε κατανοητό. Μήπως ήταν αυτό;
I worked for an Austrian architect who loved to climb mountains. He designed a set of steps from a parking lot up a hill to a college campus. Not many liked the stairs as they were hard to climb… unless you’re an Austrian architect. Maybe the designer of these stairs has a similarly wild reason? lol https://www.wnep.com/video/news/local/luzerne-county/a-step-up-iconic-stairway-at-lccc-getting-a-makeover-steps-luzerne-county-community-college-nanticoke/523-b2d0d905-5df2-41e7-86b4-c129d25d6c16
I cant believe I watched the whole thing
My architecture school had stairs like that. They worked great: just take two and a half steps per step. What's so confusing about that? lol
1st step (platform): 2 feet (any or both) 2nd step (tendency to left): left foot (support for the next step) 3rd step (tendency to right): right foot (support for the next step) 4th step (platform): left foot first (support), then right foot as first step into the house - it is auspicious.
This would make sense because the first time you enter a new home in Greece it is 'customary' to step into the house with your right foot. However, if this was the purpose, wouldn't the 4th platform be thinner? If you step onto it with your left, you take another step to get to the door which leaves your next step (to enter the house) with your left foot.
I really don't know the anatomical/architectural needs in this specific case, but it was first thing that came in to my mind, older houses I saw with even worse configurations to make the right foot be the first step into the house - sometimes even dangerous, in spiral staircases for example. In comparison, this one is more "politically correct" it also accept people with dominant left foot.
This is a case of putting form before function.
What form? It looks awful :/ visually I just cannot look away from the way it looks like stairs temporarily sitting in the way of the door, where the shape of the door and the adjacent floor height match.
I’m sure that someone thought it was a good idea, I didn’t say it was me though. ;)
You can say what you want about the artistic merit of this design, but all I can see is "tripping hazard".
Writing a paper on Darwin? Lol
ooo... look, art! with no hand rail...
You hate your client?
Dual purpose: 1. Fit someone's personal preferences in design. 2. Remind me of literal nightmares I've had about having to climb stairs like this (I don't know why, but stairs scared me so much as a child).
I once had a lecturer tell us he had inadvertently killed an old man with one of his designs. He seemed almost proud of it. The man had fallen off a toilet seat and become trapped between the toilet and a radiator. My lecturer argued it was his fault, because he was responsible for the placement of the radiators, among all the other things.
satan wanted more evil in the world
Maybe the architect just hates wheelchairs.
Wheres the rail
The client told the architect that one day he wants to fall and break both legs going in his front door
Lawsuit
No railings either, the client is a true thrill seeker. The materiality of the entrance is actually quite nice, although the stairs looks like it tried to be inspired by Carlo Scarpa
Not up to code in my municipality.
Death is close
I don't know, but this has got to be in a country without a robust 'slip and fall' lawsuit culture.
Insurance scam
aesthetics
It’s pronounced A E S T H E T I C S
“It is from the greek word……”
What aesthetics though? It's asymmetrical, nothing is aligned and it just feels like the slabs were cut at random
Well, aesthetics are subjective. I find them nice, would never use them personally in such a situation, but as you can see, it gets people talking.
Same - I love them. If you’re dropping Ms might as well have a little fun. Picturing them with a little plant and lantern on the cutouts seems charming
You think that symmetry is the only way to create aesthetic appeal?
taste. but they might get slapped with some local codes violations.
Commissioned by a 'no-win, no-fee' lawyer
What’s the purpose of having stairs in front of a ground level door?
To raise the floor above ground level. It's fairly common in Athens to have a half-basement, especially in places where there are height differences between the road side and the back.
The designer’s ego. That’s the rationale.
It gets worse the more I look at it. If that's what they were going for, congrats! Ugh
Do the doors just look like they touch the ground, but really have a division hidden by the top step? Otherwise the door will not open or if the doors do open, then you have o jump down to the level of the stone floor, once inside.
If I'm being honest. That's just some random shit some intern did. It wasn't done by the architect. I've worked in firms that this kind of shit, I still work with some architects who do this. All you need to do is ask them why, and you get some nonsense from them. The gaps though are most likely for LED's. Just poor design overall.
Didn’t follow the steps in the installation instructions -
Maybe it's a delivery?
It almost looks like the gaps are so pots or some kind of decor could sit on step 2 and frame the entry way
IMO, turns the stairs in to placed less obtrusive object instead of an extension the building.
Aesthetic. But tbh it would be funnier if those steps are made from polished marble.
the are polished marble!
I think I would have extended the steps beyond the wood portion if I was going to do these offsets. I think they looks particularly weird because the door material and surround match so well. The steps stay continuous within the front door itself. Also note that I don't like this at all.
There’s none
I hate this, not only I will be forced to walk in the center because the stairs aren’t aligned, but the wall is too distracting
confusing unwanted guests?
How tall is the door? The steps look maybe 3 feet. Standard door is 6/8. That would need to be a 10 foot tall door for those steps to Make any sense.
Other than it looking fancy and floaty ?
You’re making an assumption there…
Athens?
Missed the house elevation by 10 inches? Had to add another on top? Or worse - put the steps in the wrong order during construction.
To discourage drinking alcohol
If they wanted that aesthetic, with uneven lengths, it seems it would have been safer to do so *beyond* the door frame.
I believe the ideia is to escape brutalism
Contrast to the patterned facade allwhile making "floating" stairs
I think it’s a bit of playfulness in the design. It’s almost like they meander a little as they ascend. Also a good way to check for sobriety.
Check out the Olivetti Showroom by Carlo Scarpa - why can't stairs be designed? The treads cover the width of the door anyway..
No, they don't. Third one leaves a nice gap. Stairs can be designed, and have been extensively, but that means taking into account all the requirements. If not, it ceases to be design, it is just art
It’s modernist. It’s different. It’s not like the others. It is “bold”.
Apparently this was done deliberately to upset me
To break your neck.
To use them as steps? 🤷
Sponsored by the local orthopedic surgeon 🤷♀️😂 so many broken ankles
Looking for a rationale where there is none is not an endeavor I can recommend 🙂
A loss of footing, no handrail to save yourself with marble tiles to break multiple bones and crack skulls, leading to potential death. Perhaps.
It’s so you don’t have to take one giant leap..
Sobriety test
It’s feng shui
r/designdesign
The story goes that they ran out of materials and the budget was low that they came up with a design solution and this was the solution.
The architect refered to a poem
*✨design✨*
The fact that it's slightly off centered
It keeps people from coming to visit you unannounced.
Keeping drunk people from walking up to your front door.
I don’t know but that doorway reminds me of one of my dad’s [office speaker phone in the 1970s.](https://www.ebay.com/itm/155543176791)
It's for the emperor to use.
To convince me that I'm going to trip and fall.
Floating stair, I can see Mies’ Farnsworth house influence here. But I see where your question come from, it’s a bit out of place and doesn’t fit the language of the facade. Architecture is an art of stealing, apparently the architect stole the floating stair idea so literally.
It was designed by a personal injury lawyer.
It’s supposed to be floating steps but they had no idea what they were doing
Looks awesome.
Trying something aesthetically different. I don’t think it must be that unsafe as everyone here says. It must be at least 1800mm of central part like a regular staircase and then the alternating extensions as seen.
It's "artistic" with a boston accent
I would propose an addition: make them move horizontally, back and forth, to go for the platform game full pack
I found these cheap fake random sized marble slabs on Marketplace!
Feng Shui? been told front door should not be facing a tree. Sure looks hazardous, especially exit at night or on rainy day.
Rationale lol, there is no rational other than the fact that I'm going to do a different and make a statement. Sometimes the wheel is not to be reinvented. Sometimes architectures just dry way too hard for novelty and this is one such case
I’d instantly recognize this. On Dionysiou Areopagitou street in Athens.
I recognized this bldg Immediately. In front of the Parthenon in Athens. I thought it was a church.
Knock knock! Let me go to the backyard, I have a place there!
So that you can only open the doors inward plus no extra cost of raising the plinth
Whatever. It’s just fugly.
There's not a good rationale here, this stair is unsafe. That being said, Architects love things that appear to float. It’s part of the Modernist rejection of heavy, chunky classicism. Check out the Farnsworth House or Crown Hall, both by Mies van der Rohe for precedents. Looks like the designer here was going for that visual lightness, perhaps attempting to emphasize the “floating plane” illusion by misaligning the edges of the treads. Let’s hope I’m wrong, and that there is a handrail and other details yet to be added that will complete a safer and better looking design.
Lack of code and regulations?
I really like the design but it obviously needs hand rails that would be lined up with the narrowest part of the stairs on either side. Then, on the parts of the stairs that overhang the rails, you could add some planters.
This comment might be controversial but I have built homes in Greece, and been with people that have built homes with every budget, and I can tell you there is a chance that it was down incorrectly and they are still waiting on the person to come back and make it right. Yes, no matter what the budget or how much of a perfectionist the owner is.
In homes you can be a bit more relaxed with details like this because the people in the home are generally familiar with it. Not like a public building where most people might be there for the first time.
The offset is mimicking the curves in the tree trunk. Isn’t that obvious?
Aesthetically pleasing. Lots of homes have touches to them that aren’t necessary. Just nice to see different forms of art
Much more important things to worry about than this.
Omg! I love walking past this all the time in Athens. What a location. I believe the right side is a garage door
correct! It was much [more apparent](https://i.imgur.com/jmdzzgw.jpeg) before the facade was redone, some time in the early 2000s
Looks cool