Buildner has revealed the winners of the Architect’s Stair competition, inviting a reimagining of one of architecture’s timeless forms. Participants explored adaptive stairs not merely as connectors, but as expressive structures that narrate architectural stories through design.
Creators were tasked with conceptualizing these steps as poetic artifacts rather than mere technical solutions, allowing designers to redefine them within sculptural and philosophical contexts. They embraced historical references, cultural symbolism, and bold new visions, with stairways becoming experimental spaces that blend function with fiction.
A jury of leading architects evaluated submissions based on concept clarity, originality, and spatial creativity. Esteemed judges included Beste Aykut from BKSK Architects and Pippa Nissen from Nissen Richards Studio, among others. Alongside this competition, Buildner is also hosting The Oak Moon Pavilion and Museum of Emotions #9, inviting innovative ideas in different architectural domains.
Winning Designs Featuring Adaptive Stairs
A.Q.U.A.LIZER: The Abacus Stairs
Zuhtu Usta from Turkey clinched the top prize with A.Q.U.A.LIZER: The Abacus Stairs. This design is a responsive stair system that adapts to fluctuating water levels using a passive mechanical structure. Modular GFRC stair platforms move along steel guides, creating a dynamic interface between land and water, embodying the concept of adaptability.
A Stair, A Spiral, or A Park
Second place went to Haoran Yuan from the U.S. for transforming staircases into landscapes filled with spirals. The design invites movement and interaction on various levels, with light and geometry creating an immersive public space that showcases the concept.
(St)Aircase – From Scrap to Step
German designer Ralf Klaus Petersen’s entry uses reclaimed steel from an industrial complex to craft this lightweight residential stair. The resourceful use of recycled materials emphasizes the connection between industrial history and modern domestic design, illustrating another form of adaptability.
Student Innovation: Social Play
Brad Michael Michael and Ashlie Brooke Boelkins from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette presented Social Play. This stair design integrates circulation, seating, and gathering places, turning the structure into a playful social environment with adaptability at its core.
Highlighted Submissions
Ziggurat Stairscape
Andrii Kovalskyi of Ukraine designed Ziggurat Stairscape, a modular terrain system that revitalizes urban sites with movement and greenery. It proposes adaptable landscapes using eco-friendly recycled plastic components, taking advantage of transformative principles.
To explore more on sustainable architecture, Forest-Integrated Design by Grizzo Studio highlights how design can blend harmoniously with nature.
The Trojan Step
Ajvi Allmuça’s The Trojan Step reimagines the stair as a hidden journey within a coastal cliff, inspired by the Trojan Horse. Its design transforms the ascent into an evocative experience, blending darkness and light in ways only possible with innovation.
Seine’s Slow Stair
Alexandra Baidac from Romania created Seine’s Slow Stair, a proposal to enhance a service stair in Paris. This structure links city and river, offering terraces for relaxation while preserving historical fabric, exemplifying flexible design.
For an inspirational glance at urban design, see how Bali’s Nature Weave Blends Craft and Innovation in its ecological approach.
Rising Melody
Cyprus designers Marios Solomou, Vasilis Joannides, and Stephani Kanga’s Rising Melody turns a spiral staircase into a musical instrument. The stair produces notes with each step, blending movement with sound, another creative interpretation of these dynamic structures.
This competition showcased the stair as a creative playground, inviting architects to redefine a classic element in innovative ways through embracing adaptability.
Sources & Links
Source: archdaily.com
Frequently asked questions
Who won the Architect’s Stair competition?
Zuhtu Usta from Turkey won the top prize with the design A.Q.U.A.LIZER: The Abacus Stairs.
What is the A.Q.U.A.LIZER: The Abacus Stairs?
A.Q.U.A.LIZER: The Abacus Stairs is a responsive stair system that adapts to fluctuating water levels using a passive mechanical structure, with modular GFRC stair platforms moving along steel guides.
What is ‘Social Play’ in the competition?
Social Play, by Brad Michael Michael and Ashlie Brooke Boelkins, is a stair design that integrates circulation, seating, and gathering places, transforming the structure into a playful social environment with adaptability at its core.