Fils parapets for Leonardo's staircase
Design and engineering of a metal staircase. The result of a joint effort between structural engineer Evelino Facchinetti and designers Attilio Stocchi and Gualtiero Oberti, the staircase has an elegant spiral shape with an all-steel structure.
A ladder on the whirlpools
Nicknamed "La Chiocciola" (The Snail) because of its characteristic shape, Leonardo's staircase owes its construction to the studies on vortices carried out by Leonardo da Vinci: the Maestro, in fact, dedicated himself for a long time to the mysteries of 'divina proportione', and it is from these studies that the designers with Fils started, with the intention of offering a prestigious architectural work to the Adda area.
Stretch metal mesh 'gunmetal' graphics
Small-width, stretched mesh 'GRAFICA' parapets were used to 'build' the shape of the spiral staircase that connects the new passage with the river towpath and the Belvedere in front of the Town Hall. It is also the transparent conformation of the mesh that allows considerable visibility of the landscape. The protection is absolutely robust and safe thanks to the material chosen, carbon steel. The 'Grafica' mesh was painted gunmetal.
Admiring the landscape safely
Inaugurated in 2013 as part of the exhibition '500 years of Leonardo', the whirlpool staircase with walkway and parapet on the river that was so dear to the Maestro is in fact inspired by Leonardo's projects, in particular his studies on water, polyhedrons and turbulence, and therefore represents a symbolic bridge between past and future, between tradition and new technologies. Despite its 18 tons of weight, it descends lightly from a height of about 6 metres to the level of the towpath, offering evocative and unprecedented views of the Vapore landscape.
