Stairs & Staircases

Staircase Considerations

Staircases have many variations, allowing you to find the perfect design for the style and functionality of your home. You could have a staircase in a particular fashion, from classical designs to traditional types, contemporary and modern stairs. Then you can choose the materials that will most complement your home or business, including timber, stainless steel, wrought iron, and glass, or a combination of materials. You also have to consider who will be using the stairs and how much traffic it will be subjected to in order to determine how wide the treads should be and what type of handrail to add.

Then there is the style of the balustrades (horizontal, vertical, decorative, panels?) and the material it is made of. You would have to think about the space that they staircase will take up- should it be straight, curved, or spiral?

Straight Staircases

There are several types of straight staircases, depending on the number of flights, landings, and changes of direction in the design. A straight run stair is one without any turns or winders and with only one straight flight. A Two Straight Run Stair consists of two straight flights and one landing, but without any turns. A Quarter Turn Stair has two straight flights connected by quaterspace landing that allows for a 90° turn.

A Half Winding Stair consists of one flight with one half winder with a 180° turn. The Half Turn Stair also has a 180° turn, consisting of two flights connected by a halfspace landing. A Two Quarter Winding Stair consists of one flight with two quarter winders, each making a 90° turn. The Two Quarter and Three Quarter Turn Stair consists of one flight with two or three quarter winders respectively, the former making a 180° turn and the latter a 270° turn.

The Double Return Stair has one straight flight toa wide quaterspace landing and two side flights from that landing extending in opposite directions, making a 90° turn.

Broome’s Staircase to the Moon

Broome’s spectacular ‘Staircase to the Moon’ is a naturally occurring optical illusion. Broome is located in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, 2200 km north of Perth. It is both a tourist and pearling town, reknown for its harvesting of mother of pearl since the 1880s. This special town is is located on a north/south peninsula, which means it has water on both sides of the town.

The ‘Staircase to the Moon’ occurs three nights each month between March and October, on the mudflats of the North West coast. When the full moon rises over the mudflast exposed by extremely low tides, the reflected light creates the illusion of a staircase reaching for the moon. The best viewing spots are at Roebuck Bay in Broome, Cooke Point in Port Hedland, the Lookout at Cossack, Hearson’s Cove at Karratha and Sunrise Beach in Onslow. On the occasions when the ‘Staircase to the Moon’ appears, there are often local market nights in Broome. These feature local food, crafts and entertainment by local performers.

Optical Illusions

Optical illusions are visually perceived images that differ from objective reality, whereby the information gained through sight and processed by the brain produces a perception that does not accord with the physical characteristics of the actual source. For example, while a viewer may perceive a staircase rising to the moon, in actual fact it is only the reflection of light.

Physiological optical illusions depend of the excessive stiumlation of a specific type to create an effect on visual perception. The theory is that repetitive stimulation of particular neural paths causes a physiological imbalance that alters perception. This could include afterimages following bright lights or flashes, repetitive stimulation of tilt, colour, movement and so on.

Cognitive optical illusions are a result of unconscious inferences about the world. For example, in ambigious illusions the brain recognises two separate images and therefore the brain switches between the two alternative interpretations. Other types include distorting illusions and paradox illusions.

Katoomba, NSW

Katoomba is a thriving tourist town in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, overlooking the Jamison Valley. One of the main attractions is a rock formation called The Three Sisters, named Meehni (922m), Wimlah (918m) and Gunnedoo (906m).

They are named after a legend, though it is uncertain whether it is an Indigenous legend or one made up by the tourist industry, that says that three sisters were turned into stone to protect them from three brothers from a rival tribe whom they had fallen in love with but were not allowed to marry. The upset brothers decided to try and capture the sisters, so a witchdoctor turned them to stone to protect them, but died before he could undo the spell again. Another great attraction of Katoomba is the Giant Stairway.

The Giant Stairway

The Giant Stairway of Katoomba was hewn out of the cliff face next to the Three Sisters, providing a spectacular descent into the Jamison Valley. It descends approximately 300 metres (or 1000 feet) via more than 800 steps (896 to be exact!). Of course the builders took advantage of natural ledges and projections, as well as installing metal stairs where necessary. It terminates at the base of the Scenic Railway, and provides incredible views over the valley. From the bottom visitors can choose to continue along the Federal Pass to the beautiful Katoomba Falls, furber Steps and Scenic World, or towards Leura Forest.

The Chief Ranger Jim McKay came up with the idea of the Giant Stairway in 1914, after already planning and building the Dardannells Pass. Initially hesitant due to the scope and cost of the project, the coucil approved the plans in 1916. However after only a quarter of the distance had been built, the project ground to a halt because of the expense of carving steps out of the sheer rock face. Eventually, building re-commenced in 1932 after lobbying by a local photographer.