Curved Steel Balustrade Staircase | Hollfelder
2025, Immenstadt
For three generations, the Hollfelder jewellery business has stood for exclusive watches and fine jewellery. In addition to its locations at the Sonnenalp Resort, in Dornbirn and Immenstadt, the family-run business opened a new store in Oberstaufen in 2025. In an elegant setting, the company presents exquisite jewellery pieces from renowned brands such as Fope, Wellendorff and Chopard.
The centrepiece of the store is a double-flight, smoothly curved steel staircase featuring an elegantly curved steel soffit. Connecting the ground floor with the upper and top floors, the staircase becomes a sculptural architectural feature in its own right.
Curved Steel Balustrade Staircase with Sculptural Steel Soffit
The self-supporting staircase features flat steel stringers on both sides, extending to balustrade height and serving as fall protection. The steel treads welded between the stringers are designed as a folded-plate construction.
A defining design feature is the recessed, smooth steel soffit. Designed as a rigid, structurally load-bearing cladding element, it is welded flush into the underside between the stringers, creating a continuous, precisely finished surface.
A framework of horizontally and vertically arranged flat steel sections is attached to the outer balustrade stringer. It accommodates the LED lighting provided by others, which starts at floor level and extends to the end of each flight. The design is complemented by an additional round steel tube handrail mounted beneath the integrated lighting recess.
Structural Connection Details
The balustrade serves a dual purpose: in addition to functioning as a full-height steel plate railing, it also acts as a ceiling fascia, partially concealing the edge of the ceiling slab and providing a connection for the floor build-up.
The connection at the staircase exit on the second upper floor presented a particular challenge. Unlike the ground and first floors, where the staircase is secured to reinforced concrete slabs, the upper connection had to be anchored to a timber beam ceiling. This required an adapted fixing solution and a separate structural assessment of the load-bearing capacity.
Installation also posed particular challenges due to the restricted conditions within the existing building. Ultimately, the entire staircase had to be brought into the building through a window opening on the second upper floor.
Awarded “Treppen des Jahres 2026”
This extraordinary staircase was named the winner in the “Extravagance” category at the “Treppen des Jahres 2026” competition. The expert jury particularly praised the interplay of precise steel construction, fluid design, and high-quality materials:
An impressive statement combining precision steel craftsmanship with a refined, lustrous surface aesthetic. The flowing geometry of the curved soffit and the warm character of the solid wood treads transform this staircase into an exceptional sculptural work of art within the space
Insights
Project details
- Self-supporting steel balustrade staircase
- Full-height flat steel stringers on both sides, serving as fall protection
- Integrated lighting recess in the outer balustrade stringer for LED lighting supplied and installed by others
- Additional round steel tube handrail on the outer side, positioned below the lighting recess
- Steel treads in folded-plate construction, welded between the stringers
- Water-based primer in grey
- Smooth steel sheet soffit cladding
- Welded flush into the structure, following the curved staircase profile
- Increased structural rigidity and improved vibration performance
- Recessed soffit designed as suspended steel cladding, subject to structural assessment
- Horizontal and vertical flat steel sections to accommodate LED lighting supplied and installed by others
- Continuous lighting along each flight, starting at floor level and extending to the end of the staircase
Architektur
Alpstein Planung GmbH, Immenstadt
