Plate LXI. Staircases in Great Halls

Plate LXI. — The plan and perspective sketch, No. I, illustrate the main staircase at the British Museum, London, which is notable for its monumental treatment. It is arranged in three flights, the central or approach flight being twice the width of the “return” flights. This staircase is successful on account of the sense of solidity and support given to the parts, and it affords a valuable motive that should be noted by the student.

It is sometimes necessary to introduce a staircase as a feature in a large public waiting hall which must not encroach too much on the floor space. A staircase in direct flights would not fulfil this condition. The interesting example in the Great Hall at Euston Station, London, designed by Philip Hardwick, shown in No. II, is an ingenious arrangement, suggested by Italian precedent; it is at once functional and architectural, for it lends dignity to the scale of the hall and does not encroach unduly upon the floor space.