Staircases

"This [book] is the first one that I can recall that deals exclusively with this single subject, and does so with such thoroughness. Its 10 chapters cover all the essentials, ...many color photos and drawings...explain and expand on the text. It offers great value for the price."--"Wood Design & Building."

This volume showcases the astonishing diversity of staircases over the centuries, from the stepped pyramids of the Maya to the exquisitely proportioned stairs of the Renaissance, to the elaborate balustraded confections of the Baroque period, to the computer-aided designs of today. A dazzling range of photographs, many specially taken for this book, illustrates chronologically ordered essays. Among the scores of featured staircases are Michelangelo's double stair at the Palazzo dei Senatori on the Capitoline Hill in Rome; the double-spiral stair at Château de Chambord in the Loire Valley; the entrance stair in the Winter Palace (now the Hermitage) in St Petersburg; the radical spiral ramp of Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Museum; and the exterior stair at the Pompidou Centre in Paris. The authors also explore the magical and symbolic meanings of the staircase. Powerful emblems of technological and artistic achievement, these staircases are inherently dynamic, as is every page of this illustrated book.

NAUTILUS BOOK AWARD GOLD MEDALIST — BODY, MIND, SPIRIT PRACTICES “Combining an extraordinary range of scholarship with an accessible and entertaining writing style, The Infinite Staircase . . . provides a coherent and unified platform for a full human life.” —Midwest Book Review In this bold new book, high-tech’s best-known strategist makes a seminal contribution to the search for meaning in a secular era. Two questions fundamental to human existence have always been the metaphysical “where do I fit in the grand scheme of things?” and the ethical “how should I behave?” Religion is no longer a source of answers for many people, and nothing has replaced it. Moore uses his signature framework-based approach to answer these questions, taking us on an intellectual roller coaster ride through physics, chemistry, biology, the social sciences and the humanities. Along the way, he builds a metaphorical ladder that leads from the big bang to the need for ethical action in our daily lives. Combining an extraordinary range of scholarship with an accessible and entertaining writing style, The Infinite Staircase: What the Universe Tells Us About Life, Ethics, and Mortality provides a coherent and unified platform for a full human life.

Staircases are one of the most intriguing of architectural elements as well as engineering miracles. This guide showcases 50 brilliant staircase designs by today's leading architects, in locations ranging from a private home in Finland to a Chicago apartment building.

The first theoretical, historical, and scientific analysis of one of the most basic and universal building elements: the stair.

In recent years both free-standing and geometric staircases have become quite popular. Many variations exist, such as spiral, helical, and elliptical staircases, and combinations of these. A number of researchers have come forward with different concepts in the fields of analytical and numerical design and of experimental methods and assessments. The aim of this book is to cover all these methods and to present them with greater simplicity to practising engineers. Staircases is divided into five chapters: Specifications and basic data on staircases; Structural analysis of staircases – Classical methods; Structural analysis of staircases – Modern methods; Staircases and their analysis – A comparative study; Design analysis and structural detailing. Charts and graphs are included and numerous design examples are given of freestanding and other geometric staircases and of their elements and components. These examples are related to the case studies which were based on staircases that have already been constructed. All examples are checked using various Eurocodes. The book includes bibliographical references and is supported by two appendices, which will be of particular interest to those practising engineers who wish to make a comparative study of the different practices and code requirements used by various countries; detailed drawings are included from the USA, Britain, Europe and Asia. Staircases will serve as a useful text for teachers preparing design syllabi for undergraduate and post graduate courses. Each major section contains a full explanation which allows the book to be used by students and practising engineers, particularly those facing the formidable task of having to design/ detail complicated staircases with unusual boundary conditions. Contractors will also find this book useful in the preparation of construction drawings and manufacturers will be interested in the guidance given.

"There are rappers who everyone loves and there are rappers who every rapper loves, and Corey Woods, a.k.a. Raekwon the Chef, is one of the few who is both. His versatile flow, natural storytelling, and evocative imagery have inspired legions of fans and a new generation of rappers. Raekwon is one of the founding members of Wu-Tang Clan, and his voice and cadence are synonymous with the sound that has made the group iconic since 1991. Now, for the first time, Raekwon tells his whole story, from struggling through poverty in order to make ends meet to turning a hobby into a legacy. The Wu-Tang tale is dense, complex, and full of drama, and here nothing is off-limits: the group's origins, secrets behind songs like "C.R.E.A.M." and "Protect Ya Neck," and what it took to be one of the first hip-hop groups to go from the underground to the mainstream. Raekwon also delves deep into the making of his meticulous solo albums--particularly the classic Only Built 4 Cuban Linx--and talks about how spirituality and fatherhood continue to inspire his unstoppable creative process." --