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If there’s one thing that screams grandeur, it’s a double-helix staircase. The original double spiralling staircase was designed by Leonardo da Vinci for the Château de Chambord, and there’s one in the Vatican too. Now, London has a brand-new double-helix, and it’s in a very swanky department store.
Fortnum and Mason has just revealed its most ambitious architectural project in more than 20 years. Fortnum’s Piccadilly flagship has installed an intertwining staircase of its own, designed with Ben Pentreath Studio.
Inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s original concept, the three-storey structure intertwines two staircases like strands of DNA.
The Piccadilly shop’s staircase was hand-built in Sussex and took two years to complete. It was built in sections and then assembled inside the store. Now finished, it features more than 3,000 hand-forged details, each hand-cast by a master blacksmith. It also comprises timber steps and risers, discreet lighting in the handrails, and plasterwork. The design was modelled in 3D to achieve complete precision, ensuring a seamless fit within the historic building.
What makes a double helix staircase so special, you might be wondering? As well as being a feat in engineering, it creates an almost optical illusion. In appearance, these staircases appear to be a single structure, but in reality they are made of two separate ramps which snake around each other.
Architectural designer, Ben Pentreath, said, ‘It has been a privilege to work with Fortnum & Mason on such a rare and ambitious project. The double helix staircase is at once a technical marvel and a deeply human piece of design, marrying engineering precision with craft at the highest level. Our aim has been to create a structure that feels timeless, one that restores architectural integrity to the store while also delivering beauty and joy for the millions who pass through its doors each year.’
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