Item #900592 The Staircase: History and Theories & The Staircase: Studies of Hazards, Falls, and Safer Design. 2 Volume Set. John Templer.
The Staircase: History and Theories & The Staircase: Studies of Hazards, Falls, and Safer Design. 2 Volume Set

The Staircase: History and Theories & The Staircase: Studies of Hazards, Falls, and Safer Design. 2 Volume Set

Cambridge: MIT Press, 1992.
Hardcover. 7-5/8 x 10", 1/2 grey cloth, marbled paper over boards, marbled endpapers, xiv, 183pp, xvi, 200pp, apps., notes, glossaries, references, index. Item #900592
ISBN: 0262200821/026220083X

The first volume treats the history of stairs and their influence on the art and science of architecture. Illustrated with over 200 photographs, it reviews the literature on stairs (as well as ladders, railings, and ramps) from Vitruvius to Venturi. Templer considers the stair as an art object, a strucural idea, a legal prescription, and a poetic fancy - and presents it in an aesthetic, architectonic, ergonomic, and cultural synthesis. The second volume, also illustrated, shows the dangers that stairs present. Drawing on 20 years of human factors research on stairs, Templer sets out what is known about slips, trips, and falls and how best to design stairs to avoid their inherent dangers. He discusses the physiological and behavioral relationship between humans and stairs and walkways, the question of gait and slipper surfaces, and the various types of falls and the injuries that result. Perhaps most importantly, Templer proposes the idea of the soft stair, which could substantially reduce the annual epidemic of stair-related deaths and injuries.

Fine in dust wrappers with a bit of spine fading, in protective mylar.

Price: $125.00