UMCG, Groningen [NL]

EeStairs + Wiegerinck Architecten

The strong and immediate visual impact of the helical staircase at the University Medical Centre at Groningen in the Netherlands disguises some very subtle aspects. The design of the medical centre has promoted 'healing architecture' in which light, space and art have been combined in innovative ways—and these stairs are a key example.

The stairs, with full-depth steel balustrades, connect three floors and rise in two helical twists towards the atrium's skylights. Two features are unusual. The first is the way the oak treads and risers sit on the smooth, geometrically 'true' EeSoffit™ - a rare combination. Less obvious, but highly effective in creating atmosphere in the atrium, is the way the green-painted stairs are lit: relatively pale daylight falls on the top of the stairs, while the lower section is given warmer artificial lighting.

The finely crafted curve of the laminated oak handrails on the landing balustrades is another notable feature. The overall geometric precision of the staircase is equally evident in the Coriolis 'swirls' formed by the top edge of the inner balustrade when looking down the centre of the stairs.