The Most Spectacular1 Staircases in the World

Meredith Hooper

Infinity2. infinity： 无限，无穷。 and beyond

The architecture of the staircase combines form and function, upper and lower space. It can represent power or status, or symbolise spiritual elevation and the climb to knowledge.3. 楼梯或代表权力和地位，或象征精神层面的提升和对知识的追求。symbolise：象征，代表；elevation： 提高，提升，后文elevated的意思是“升高的”。A new book published by Thames & Hudson,The Staircase: The Architecture of Ascentexplores the history and meaning of the staircase, from the simple,straight-flight steps of the Mayan pyramids, to the radical spiral ramp of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum and the computer-aided designs of today.4. 一本由泰晤士哈德森出版社出版的新书《楼梯：上升建筑》探究了楼梯的历史和意义，书中为读者呈现的有直上直下、简简单单的玛雅人金字塔楼梯、弗兰克·劳埃德·赖特为古根海姆博物馆设计的完全旋转式的楼梯，还有当今计算机辅助设计出的楼梯。Thames& Hudson： 一家总部设在英国伦敦的著名出版公司，主要出版艺术、建筑和设计类图书；Mayan： 玛雅人的，后文的Maaya是名词“玛雅人”，是中美洲地区和墨西哥印第安人的一支，公元前约2,500年就已定居今墨西哥南部、危地马拉等地区；Frank Lloyd Wright： 弗兰克·劳埃德·赖特（1867—1959），美国著名建筑设计师、室内设计师，也是20世纪上半叶最具影响力的设计师；Guggenheim Museum： 古根海姆博物馆，全称Solomn R. Suggenheim Museum（见57页），是索罗门·R.古根海姆基金会旗下所有博物馆的总称，它是世界上最著名的私人现代艺术博物馆之一。

当你徜徉在一座令你心驰神往已久的建筑杰作中，你有没有注意过建筑的楼梯？虽然只是建筑中的细节，但楼梯的作用却不可小觑。楼梯的风格也因建筑整体风格的不同而千变万化。

古根海姆博物馆内景

玛雅金字塔

The steps of the Toltec-Maya pyramid at Chichen Itza5. Toltec： 托尔特克人，是十世纪左右统治墨西哥中部地区的民族；Chichen Itza： 奇琴伊察（玛雅古城遗址）。, Mexico are an early example of the simple, straight-flight staircase—the ancestor of all stair design. Appearing to stretch up to the sky, this style of staircase came to symbolize an ascent to heaven and infinity, and has captured artists’ imaginations.

Let there be light

The “lantern” at the dome of a staircase is an important design feature — allowing the light to stream in.7. lantern： 灯，灯笼式天窗。The view shown here of the lantern of the Chateau of Chambord in the Loire, France, shows the flat ceiling embellished with coffering.8. Chateau（别墅，庄园） of Chambord：尚博尔城堡，也称香堡，坐落在法国卢瓦尔河左岸五千米外的科松镇，城堡草图是弗朗索瓦一世邀请达·芬奇设计的；coffering： 方格天花板。Flanking the large windows are eight niches intended to hold statues.9. flank： 位于……侧面；niche： 壁龛。The Chateau marks a high point in the development of the staircase, illustrating the Renaissance architects’ fascination with the spiral structure around an open space.

尚博尔城堡

法尔奈斯庄园

Elevated circles

The upper part of the helix staircase of the Villa Farnese at Caprarola, Lazio, built in 1559, makes a grand statement.10. helix： 螺旋；Villa Farnese： 法尔奈斯庄园，意大利三大庄园之一；make a statement： 表明，表现。Architect Jacopo Vignola’s design was a blend of an Italian palazzo, a villa and a French chateau.11. Jacopo Vignola： 吉阿柯莫·维尼奥拉，继米开朗基罗之后罗马最著名的建筑师，曾在法兰西王宫中供职；palazzo：〈意〉宫殿，大厦；villa： 花园住宅别墅。The monumental staircase rises to a third floor and is supported by 30 pairs of Doric, Ionic and Corinthian columns.12. monumental： 巨大的，高大的；Doric：多立克柱式的；Ionic： 爱奥尼亚式的；Corinthian： 科林斯式的。多立克柱式、爱奥尼亚柱式和科林斯柱式并称西方古典建筑的三大柱式。

High and mighty

The spirit of the Baroque emerges in the monumental staircase of the Palazzo Canossa in Mantua, Lombardy, built in the 1600s for the Gonzaga family, who ruled that part of northern Itlay from the 14th to the 18th Centuries.13. 巴洛克风格出现在位于伦巴第曼图亚的卡诺萨宫殿那具有里程碑意义的楼梯上，这座宫殿是在17世纪初为14世纪至18世纪统治意大利北部的贡萨加家族建造的。The figures that greet the visitor on the landing include two large hounds: dogs were the emblem14. emblem： 象征，徽章。of the powerful family.

卡诺萨宫殿

普雷蒙特雷修道院

Stairway to heaven

The elegance of French architecture in the Age of Enlightenment is typified by the elliptical spiral staircase at the Abbey of Prémontré in the Aisne, built in the first half of the 17th Century.15. Age of Enlightenment： 启蒙运动时期；elliptical：椭圆的；Abbey of Prémontré： 普雷蒙特雷修道院；Aisne： 法国埃纳省。Architects of the time understood the mystical mood set by light on stone and tapering16. tapering： 逐渐变细的。shadows on steps.

High drama

The palaces of Germany and Austria show German Baroque at its most dramatic and rich. At the Würzburg Residenz—commissioned by the city’s powerful dynasty of prince-bishops—the ceiling is covered in a fresco by Venetian artist Giambattista Tiepolo depicting the four corners of the earth above the great staircase.17. Würzburg Residenz： 维尔茨堡主教宫，位于德国南部；fresco： 壁画；princebishop： 采邑主教，或称亲王主教，是指以天主教教会诸侯的身份治理一个或是多个公国，同时拥有政教二重权力的主教；Giambattista Tiepolo： 提埃坡罗（1696－1770），常被称为贾姆巴蒂斯塔（Giambattista），是意大利著名画家。

维尔茨堡主教宫

奥古斯都堡

Allusions of grandeur18. allusion： 暗指，暗示；grandeur： 壮丽，辉煌。

At Augustusburg Castle in Brühl, near Cologne, the architect Balthasar Neumann built one of the most extraordinary of all German Rococo staircases.19. Augustusburg Castle： 奥古斯都堡，位于德国科隆附近的布吕尔；Balthasar Neumann： 巴尔塔扎·诺伊曼（1687—1753），是巴洛克建筑重要的德意志建筑大师之一；Rococo： 洛可可风格的。The architect, in keeping with the style of the time, was concerned less with the beauty of the individual materials than with the overall visual effect when they were brought together, and most of the marble is in fact imitation20. imitation： 模仿。. No expense was spared, though, on the trompe-l’oeil21. trompe-l’oeil： 视觉陷阱，是一种作画技巧，使二维的画给人以极度真实的三维空间的感觉。paintings, created by the most outstanding artists of the day.

High society

The austerely elegant staircase at Seaton Delaval Hall in Northumberland in the UK is inspired by the Palladian style—grandiose but glacial.22. austerely： 严格地，庄严地；Seaton Delaval Hall： 锡顿德勒沃尔宅邸；Northumberland： 诺森伯兰郡（英国英格兰郡名）；Palladian：帕拉迪奥式的；grandiose： 富丽堂皇的，宏伟华丽的。As in the rest of Europe, the staircase in Britain became a symbol of prestige and ritual, and in the British country house it reflected and reinforced the owner’s social status,success or ambitions to power.23. reflect： 表达，反映；reinforce： 强化，深化。

锡顿德勒沃尔宅邸

纽约古根海姆博物馆外景

Circle of life

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York was Frank Lloyd Wright’s final masterpiece24. masterpiece： 杰作，大作。, completed in 1959.The building’s iconic quality derives from the spiralling ramp that surrounds the circular atrium, celebrating the movement of visitors through the museum’s six floors and unifying interior and exterior.25. 这座建筑最突出的特点就是围绕圆形中庭的螺旋形楼梯，如此一来在中庭就能看见往来一楼到六楼参观的游客们，也使建筑的内外风格得到统一。ramp： 扶梯；atrium： 中庭，天井；unify： 统一，使一致。

Onwards and upwards

The innovative Pompidou Centre in Paris was nicknamed the ‘gasworks’, and typified the fascination with technology of the time.26. Pompidou Centre： 蓬皮杜中心，位于法国巴黎，是法国前卫艺术的会堂；gaswork： 煤气站； fascination：着迷，迷恋。Opened in 1977, it was designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers who, in a grandiose theatrical gesture,strung stairways across the full width of the main facade.27. Renzo Piano： 伦佐·皮亚诺（1937— ），意大利当代著名建筑师。1998年第20届普利兹克奖得主；Richard Rogers： 理查德·罗杰斯，英国建筑师。代表作有著名的“千年穹顶”，与福斯特合作设计的香港汇丰银行和与意大利建筑师皮阿诺共同设计巴黎蓬皮杜艺术和文化中心等等。A functional and geometric triumph, the main staircase stretched across all six floors.

蓬皮杜中心