A huge steel spiral staircase has been installed on top of a warehouse in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, as part of the Fenix Museum designed by Chinese studio MAD.
The final phase of the installation of the sculptural staircase, called Tornado, took place today marking the topping out of the museum.
The installation marks the topping out of the building
Rising 30 metres through a former warehouse, which is being transformed in collaboration with conservation studio Bureau Polderman, the sculptural form is clad in 297 highly polished stainless-steel panels.
The canopy that sits at the top of the staircase, which was made in Groningen, was craned into place today after it was transported by boat to Rotterdam.
It is clad in polished-steel panels The staircase will form part of the Fenix Museum, which is described as the "first museum in the world dedicated to stories of migration".
It will contain a 550-metre-long, double-helix wooden staircase that leads to a viewpoint with views across the harbour and city.
According to the studio it was designed to represent "unexpected journeys" taken by migrants, while connecting the past and the future.
The museum will have a viewpoint of the harbour
"When we were asked to work on Fenix, we knew we had to create a dialogue with the existing building and its surroundings ? and with a past containing so many stories of migration, memories, and uncertainty," said MAD founder Ma Yansong.
"In designing a new s...