City Museum Staircase

The main staircase in the City Museum in Den Bosch (the Netherlands) cantilevers 5 metres from the floors across a full 11 metres of height, with no columns anywhere along its run. The structure is fixed only at its top and bottom connections to the floors, yet weighs 19 tonnes once fully finished and is designed to carry an additional 500 kg/m² of variable load.

The project

Calculation of the main staircase in the City Museum in Den Bosch (the Netherlands).

A free-cantilevering staircase with no columns

The stairway cantilevers 5m from the floors. The ceilings are twice 5.5meters, so 11 meters total height. There is not a single column present. The stairway is only fixed at the bottem and top side to the floors. The structure, completely decorated and finished, weighs on its own already 19 tons, and is designed for an additional variable load of 500 kg/m².

FAQ

How can a staircase cantilever several metres without any columns underneath it?

A cantilevering staircase carries its loads not by resting on intermediate supports, but by being rigidly fixed at both ends into the floors it connects. That fixation needs to resist the full bending moment and shear from the staircase’s self-weight and any imposed load along its unsupported span, which is why the connections at the top and bottom are the critical design elements rather than the stair run itself.

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Schijf WVB

Schijf WVB is a Dutch/Italian engineering office, specialized in steel stairways and railings. The work is completely in 3D. Since december 2000, they started using first PowerFrame and afterwards Diamonds to calculate the most complex staircases.

Customer since : 2002

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