Carglass, Hasselt [BE]

EeStairs + Mamu Architects and more

This floating steel and glass staircase, in the Belgian headquarters of Carglass, a leading French vehicle glazing supplier, is supported by a single central column, which meant that its build-quality was critically important. EeStairs worked closely with the project’s structural engineer to ensure that key structural features, such as the oblique radii of the steel ‘trees’ supporting the rising staircase, were very accurately fabricated.

There was an unusual aesthetic challenge in this cost-sensitive project. It was vital that the steel was exactly the same shiny black colour as the glass, and also that the joint-line between the steel and the glass was virtually invisible. EeStairs achieved this seamless effect by bedding the glass panels in precisely formed U-profile grooves in the angular steel ‘cheeks’ that form the base of the parapets.