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.
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.
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.
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 structure, we had to show this dialogue between the future and the past, and so continue the story of the building,” he continued.
“The Tornado is all about the future, but it’s rooted in the past,” he added.
“For me, it’s a metaphor for the journeys of migrants who passed through this building.”
The building, which is set to open in 2025, is the latest museum developed by MAD.
The studio previously unveiled construction photos of its Hainan Science Museum in China, while in Los Angeles it is designing the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.
The photography is by Henry Verhorst.
