Glass Staircase, Hyde Park Square
This project is the nearest we have come yet to designing an ‘all glass’ staircase. With the Architect, we have developed this spiral staircase of laminated glass treads and post tensioned glass spine. The treads and spine ‘vertibrae’ are stacked with dry joints, and have a single steel rod passing through them that is post tensioned to clamp the whole assembly together.
As one walks up the stair, the bending forces in the cantilevering treads are resisted by the tension in the rod and compression within the glass column. The balustrades are glued to the ends of the treads, and intermediate ribs are placed beneath the treads to ensure compliance with the 100 mm diameter sphere rule. Without the post tension force the whole assembly could be folded up like a Swiss Army Knife.
Architect Michael Mallinson Architects
Client Private
Client Private
