topic Re: Curved Stair Help Needed in Modeling

Curved Stair Help Needed

Anonymous — Thu, 25 May 2023 15:04:17 GMT

Hi, folks, can someone help me make some curved stairs? I'm getting close, but not close enough.

I've got a 30' circular atrium that goes through four floors of the building, and I want a curved stair that ascends less than half the perimeter, and outside its outer edge, requring walking to the next flight, so that each floor's stair is a mirror image of the one below, but so that they don't meet in plan. In other words, each flight will be less than 180 degrees. I'm still playing with the design, so I don't know by how much exactly.

I've been messing around with the angle in Stairmaker, and I'm getting close, but I just can't get the stair to align with the edge of the opening in the slab. I've tried doing it with Stairbuilder, too, but something about the settings I'm using is crashing that and not producing any stairway. Or was it Stairbuilder that allows setting the angle? I can't remember. Either way, it's not working very well.

I'm afraid I really don't know very much at all about stair design in the first place, and coupled with the cryptic selections in Stairbuilder in particular, I'm at a bit of a loss for an easier way to do this - and to ensure proper cuts out of the slab or additions to it, or whatever is needed in a situation like this.

TIA for any assistance.

Wendy

Re: Curved Stair Help Needed

Steve Jepson — Wed, 08 Dec 2004 06:21:23 GMT

Use the "Create Stair Using Selection" tool. See "Creating Custom Stairs from Drawing Elements" in the Help menu.

Re: Curved Stair Help Needed

Steve Jepson — Wed, 08 Dec 2004 06:22:22 GMT

Like this ?

Re: Curved Stair Help Needed

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Dec 2004 08:16:40 GMT

Steve wrote:
Use the "Create Stair Using Selection" tool. See "Creating Custom Stairs from Drawing Elements" in the Help menu.

Thanks, Steve. I didn't know about that. I've never worked with fills, though, and can't seem to get the nice neat polygons that you've got. They turn out like pie wedges, totally odd shapes, or don't take at all.

Wendy

[/img]

Re: Curved Stair Help Needed

Steve Jepson — Wed, 08 Dec 2004 08:31:58 GMT

Can you post some pictures of what you are trying to do?

Re: Curved Stair Help Needed

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Dec 2004 09:23:13 GMT

Steve wrote:
Can you post some pictures of what you are trying to do?

If my Internet connection will keep connected - it's been a real problem this evening <sigh>. Please ignore the rest of the mess on the screenshot.

Your second diagram is the basic plan, but with the two stairs on separate stories, and with the inner circle actually a hole in the slab.

Wendy

Re: Curved Stair Help Needed

Steve Jepson — Wed, 08 Dec 2004 11:43:07 GMT

Something like this?

Re: Curved Stair Help Needed

Steve Jepson — Wed, 08 Dec 2004 12:15:14 GMT

in 3d it looks like this.

Re: Curved Stair Help Needed

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Dec 2004 13:03:06 GMT

Steve,

Yes, exactly, except with the stairs on only two sides, so that one has to walk between the flights, and facing the other direction. I suspect the atrium is going to shrink, though, because I'm already having a hard time fitting everything else in around it.

Is it possible to extend at least some of the treads so that they are deep enough to require a couple of steps, or potentially even incorporate a short landing or two part way up, so that the progression from one floor to the next is lengthened and slowed?

There's also going to be a couple of other twists. Once I finalize the size and exact placement of the atrium, it's going to taper somewhat from ground level through to the roof, where it will be capped with a small glass enclosure and form part of a roof garden, so each stair will have to be a bit different, and somehow go from a wider opening below to a narrower one above. Unfortunately, not being very good at this yet even with simple stairs, I have no idea how to deal with the landings in a situation like this.

Then, if I can figure out how to do it, the slabs will be stairstepped around the opening in the same sort of taper, sort of like crown molding, but integral to the slab.

The project is a Buddhist temple, and part of the idea with the atrium and stairs is to create a sense of journey, pathway, and seeking enlightenment, while architecturally incorporating elements of the stupa, which Buddhists walk around and up in a similar way as part of their meditation practice.

Thanks for your help; I really appreciate it. I wish I could figure out how to do this myself, but the procedure is just escaping me.

Wendy

Re: Curved Stair Help Needed

Steve Jepson — Wed, 08 Dec 2004 13:34:45 GMT

I must admit that I don't really understand exactly what the stair needs to look like but I am sure that ArchiCAD can make any stair you want. As far as changing the width of treads and progression of risers,

I am afraid you may be in trouble with blind monks and building inspectors.

There is a maximum number of risers you can have with out a landing, (12' max I think) and the greatest variance between riser heights and tread widths in a stair can not exceed 3/8" (for residence) something similar for commercial. An inconsistent stair is an accident waiting to happen. The smallest change can make you trip.

Re: Curved Stair Help Needed

Anonymous — Thu, 16 Dec 2004 12:42:46 GMT

Steve wrote:
As far as changing the width of treads and progression of risers,

I am afraid you may be in trouble with blind monks and building inspectors.

True, I'm afraid, so I've abandoned that idea. A girl can dream in the delirious wee hours of the night, can't she <g>?

But what am I missing with the fills? I cannot for the life of me draw one in the shape I need. I've read the manual section(s), and still can't get them to work.

I've tried drawing it freehand as well as laying down a circle with a 5' larger radius outside the hole and then putting in lines to mark the ends, but no go either way. The image I posted above is one example of what happens.

I did actually manage to draw the fill one time (although it wasn't quite right so I erased it - and of course, I don't remember exactly what I did), and thought I'd put in the direction of travel line as required, but then couldn't get it to convert. It's been close to a week since I've tried it since I've been sick in bed, so I don't remember the exact command that comes up after clicking the first point, but I don't understand what it means. No matter where I click after that first click, though, the whole process just ends.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

Wendy

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Re: Curved Stair Help Needed

Steve Jepson — Thu, 16 Dec 2004 16:32:23 GMT

Try this... place a hot spot at the center of your stair radius. Draw a curved wall the width of your stair with the center of the diameter at the same spot, explode the wall and you will have your fill. Draw an arc with radius that passes through the center-line of the fill, trim off the ends of the arc at the ends of the fill. Select the fill and the arc and click Tools-Create Stair Using Selection, select the stair from the pop-up menu that looks the most like the stair you want to make and click ok. You can probalby take it from there.

Good luck.

Re: Curved Stair Help Needed

Anonymous — Thu, 16 Dec 2004 18:10:09 GMT

Thanks, Steve, I'll give it a shot and let you know how it worked out.

Wendy

Re: Curved Stair Help Needed

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Dec 2004 04:08:06 GMT

Another easy way to get an unusual fill is to construct the area using any shapes you want (i.e.: 2 concentric circles) and then draw lines from the center of the circles to enclose the desired area. Then select the fill tool, hold space, and click inside the area. A fill is automatically constructed to the edges delineated by lines, circles, etc.

Hope this is clear enough and not too late.

Re: Curved Stair Help Needed

Steve Jepson — Tue, 21 Dec 2004 05:29:36 GMT

Sergio wrote:
Another easy way to get an unusual fill is to construct the area using any shapes you want (i.e.: 2 concentric circles) and then draw lines from the center of the circles to enclose the desired area. Then select the fill tool, hold space, and click inside the area. A fill is automatically constructed to the edges delineated by lines, circles, etc.

Hope this is clear enough and not too late.

...to late. That was illustration #1. Apparently she had some trouble doing it that way.