无尽之梯

2003年首次起航的伦敦设计节已成长为世界知名的设计赛事，提高了伦敦作为世界设计之都的地位。通过借助伦敦的人文景观，在重要区域举办展览、比
赛，展示设计装置，形成了通向国际创新社区的窗口。

2013年，dRMM为伦敦设计节设计地标，呈现一个全新的令人惊喜的伦敦，同时促进人与建筑之间的互动。

该楼梯由木材制成，突出了其长久保持建筑形态的优点，并成为赞助商—美国阔叶木外销委员会产品的展示窗口。摆放的位置应能使楼梯同时承担设计节使
者，公众区显眼标志和连接文化桥梁的重要使命。

Endless Stair, London Design Festival, Tate Modern, 2013
dRMM Architects

Since its inception in 2003, the London Design Festival (LDF) has grown into a world-renowned event celebrating and promoting London as the design
capital of the world; a gateway to the international creative community. It does this by staging exhibitions, events and installations in key locations and
venues within London’s cultural landscape.

In 2013, dRMM were approached to design a landmark project for the LDF that would allow people to see London in new and surprising ways, and to
interact with each other whilst doing so.

The project was to be built in wood, which would underline the merits of the material as a sustainable form of construction and allow the project’s sponsor,
the American Hardwood Export Council, to showcase their products. The location of this project had to enable the structure to act as ambassador for the
festival, to be prominent in the public domain, and to be culturally relevant.

2013年8月，泰特现代美术馆前的空地被选为楼梯的展示点。这座建筑装置被摆放在伦敦参观人数最多、最受欢迎的艺术馆前长达四周，为成千上万的参观
者和在繁华的伦敦南岸散步的人们展现艺术的魅力，并吸引众多来自不同领域的观看者与之互动。
在伦敦泰晤士河全景的衬托下，该现代艺术和建筑项目为我们提供了一个广阔的艺术天地，而我们的装置则是其中浓墨重彩的一笔。楼梯的规模必须足够引
人注目，否则便被泰特美术馆这个巨幅背景的光芒所掩盖。

娱乐性可以为普通公众带来启发，具有独特特质的木材经交叉复合处理产生新的变化—这是我们的设计目标。

In August 2013 the landscape in front of the Tate Modern gallery was chosen as a location for the project. The architectural installation would be positioned
outside one of London’s most visited and best-loved art galleries for four weeks, during which time it would be exposed to thousands of gallery-goers, as
well as countless passers-by walking along London’s thriving South Bank. As a result, the site would allow an incredibly diverse audience to interact with
the structure.

The programme of modern art and architecture, combined with the Thames-side panorama of London, provided a context in which our installation could
make a distinctive contribution. Yet the scale of the structure had to be significant enough to withstand the risk of being dwarfed by the grand austerity of
the Tate as a backdrop.

We wanted to create an installation that would inspire the general public with the playful possibilities of outstanding architecture and push the unique
properties of the materials that we were working with, a new variation of cross laminated timber.

最终作品“无尽的阶梯”灵感来自于楼梯结构、社会性和艺术性的多种可能，楼梯与雕塑最为接近的建筑特点以及人们横过马路的必经之地。无尽的阶梯灵感
来自M.C.Esher的画作。事实上，它并不是没有尽头，而是可以无尽地重新装配，这是一次模块组合、结构和规模上的3D实践。该楼梯是完全的预制构造，
每一片都是附加结构的重要组成部分。可拆卸羽翼状结构转移负载，适用于任何组装形式，可在任意地点循环使用。

无尽的阶梯灵感直接来自于其制作材料—木材，并通过与赞助商的合作，诞生了最终的新产品。郁金香树是木兰科的分支，美国大量出口的阔叶木产品。这
次是第一次被作为交叉复合木材使用。设计通过完美的强度—重量比，挖掘出郁金香树的美学和艺术特性。

Our solution, Endless Stair, took inspiration from the structural, social and artistic possibilities of the staircase, the aspect of architecture most closely
associated with sculpture and a place where people inevitably cross paths. Devised with M.C. Esher’s popular drawings in mind, Endless Stair is not a stair
without end, but a stair designed to be endlessly reconfigured: a three-dimensional exercise in modular composition, structure and scale. An entirely
prefabricated construction, each piece is an essential part of the additive structure, where loads are transferred through demountable flights that can be
entirely recycled on another site in a different configuration.

Endless Stair took direct inspiration from the wood from which it was constructed and, through collaboration with the sponsors, gave rise to a new product.
The Tulip Tree is a light and strong species of the Magnolia family, a plentiful and sustainable American hardwood export, but for the first time Endless
Stair uses it as a cross-laminated timber (CLT). With an extraordinary strength-to-weight ratio, the design exploits the performative and aesthetic
properties of a beautiful species.

由于“阶梯”此次仅用于展览，因为其临时性便没有要求永久式固定结构。为了保证安全使用，建筑师加装了栏杆、在合适位置上安装了楼梯平台，并对表面
进行了防滑处理。此外，楼梯还设计了强大的载重功能：同时可承受93人的重量。楼梯共用11.4吨郁金香木、187步阶梯中吸收了20吨碳。以上仅为2013伦
敦艺术节楼梯装置的数据。未来，“无尽的阶梯”在规模和外形上会有更多的变化。“无尽的阶梯”具有快速、干式建造、易拆卸、可循环的优点。2014年米兰
FuoriSalone展会上利用原来13条翼状结构中的7条组成的无柱新结构是对其优点的最好诠释。

Due to its temporary nature, the structure did not require planning permission to be erected, but it still had to be safe to use, with balustrades, landings in
appropriate positions, and non-slip finishes. Moreover, it had to be designed to suit the loading of people expected to use it: 93 people can populate Endless
Stair at any one time. In total, 11.4 tonnes of tulipwood was used in its production, absorbing 20 tonnes of carbon in its 187 steps. These figures related only
to the structure’s temporary design for the LDF 2013: in future iterations, Endless Stair has the ability to change in both scale and shape. Endless Stair is a
fast and dry construction, easily demountable, and entirely recycled on another site. This was recently demonstrated with a new, column-free composition,
using seven of the original thirteen flights at the FuoriSalone 2014 exhibition in Milan.