De Vries en Verburg, Stolwijk [NL]

EeStairs + Kolpa Architekten bv

The four-storey staircase made for the offices of the De Vries and Verburg construction company at Stolwijk in the Netherlands is the dramatic visual centrepiece in a building with remarkable environmental credentials. Designed by Kolpa Architecten, the ‘Pearl in the Polder’ building has BREEAM Outstanding and WELL V2 Platinum ratings, and excellent whole life carbon and environmental impact performance.

The staircase has a concealed steel sub-structure and powder-coated steel stringers, but is otherwise mostly made of FSC-certified solid oak, oak veneer and MDF. The design of the stairs, with input from the EeStairs design team, rises up the central atrium, following the same rounded triangular plan of the building. The visual and architectural effect is striking.

Crucially, the wooden elements dominate the appearance of the stairs in a building whose visible structure and internal surfaces are entirely made of laminated wood, with CLT floorplates. The base of the building stands in water, and a gracefully undulating bridge with a steel rib-and-strut structure, made by EeStairs, connects the building with the land around it.