Gaudí designed the Sagrada Familia with a height that would represent the path that man must travel to reach heaven. To this end, he designed this spectacular temple and endowed it with such a height that once built, it will be the tallest church in the world. And furthermore, man would have the pleasure of ascending through it by means of the spiral staircase of the Sagrada Família.
Like all elements designed by Gaudí, the shape of the spiral staircases of the Sagrada Familia are inspired by nature. And for these, the inspiration was taken from a sea snail called a turret. Of the 18 towers designed, 13 of them are accessible to the public, the 12 of the apostles and the central tower, the tower of Jesus. And all of them have spiral staircases, so that we can be as close to the sky as possible.
But, due to the more than 130 years of construction of the Sagrada Família, it has been necessary to redesign certain parts of the building, it has been necessary to redesign certain parts of the in order to modernize both its constructive solutions and the need to incorporate certain modern elements that did not exist at the end of the 19th century. Like an elevator.
Therefore, in order to be able to climb the tower of Jesus, the construction management team had to find solutions that could combine the use of the spiral staircase with a new interior space for the elevator. This is the story of how it has been possible to arrive at the masterful solution for the construction of the spiral staircases of the Sagrada Familia in the tower of Jesus Christ.
The spiral staircases of the Sagrada Familia in the Jesus Tower
To understand the shape of the shape of the stairs of the Sagrada Familia in the tower of Jesus Christ, it is necessary to understand how it is designed. And for this, we must differentiate two important aspects in its construction: on the one hand, the exterior of the tower, and on the other, its interior, a space designed as the path that man must travel to ascend to heaven.
As a consequence of all this, we can say that in reality, there is a tower within a tower, and this will be composed of a nucleus formed by the spiral staircases of the Sagrada Familia. spiral staircases of the Sagrada Familia and an elevator. Evidently, it is easy to understand that at the time the Jesus Tower was designed by Gaudí, the elevator was not foreseen, as this is a modern element. Consequently, the initial design had to be reworked, respecting the original design of the stairs as much as possible, but modernizing the construction system.
The general shape of the interior tower is that of a hyperboloid, narrowing in its central part and widening at the top. At its highest point, the core widens until it touches the wall of the outer tower. As a result, the spiral staircases are separated from the elevator as you gain height. The consequence of all this is that in the last third of the course, the steps have to be cantilevered (embedded in the core wall and suspended inside it).
If structurally this already presents a certain complexity, there is another drawback to be added: The openings in the interior pillars of the core have. These leave large holes in their center in the form of large parabolic arches of different heights, which grow as the tower rises in height. Therefore, for the construction of the staircase, it will be necessary to solve the different areas that do not have the external support, due to the existing openings.
The structure of the staircase
When considering the construction of the tower of Jesus, there was one premise that was fundamental, and that was that it should be fully visitable and accessible so that man could get as close to heaven as possible. was that it should be fully visitable and accessible so that man could get as close to heaven as possible.. Without it, the whole idea of the Holy Family would have no purpose. But in addition, it had to be built with solid stone and this was already a great structural challenge, because it was necessary to devise a system that could support all the weight of the steps along the entire length.
One of the complexities was to find the right system in those areas where cantilever construction was necessary, the weight of the stone itself could cause an inclination in the steps.. In addition, another of the conditions was that the structure should be as light as possible to enhance the aesthetics of the whole and, at the same time, it was necessary to overcome those sections in which there was no interior fastening due to the opening of the pillars.
And the solution to all this has been to build the spiral staircases of the Sagrada Familia in the tower of Jesus by means of tessellated stone.. In this way, it can compensate for the lack of weight and also guarantees stability on each and every one of the steps, whether they are fully recessed or cantilevered.
To this day, the tower of Jesus continues to be raised to the sky and with it the spiral staircases of the Sagrada Familia. the spiral staircase of the Sagrada Familia.. Thanks to Gaudí as a creative mind and the technical ingenuity of those responsible for the works of the temple, in a short time all of us will be able to be closer to our Creator.
