House of Stairs

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I was worried that this book would have an anticlimatic ending, that there would be no explanation of why this was happening to these people. But it has a very satisfying ending that will leave you thinking about it for a long time. It's like 1984 for a slightly younger set.

In it one can see the interior of a very tall structure full of stairs and doorways. There are 46 creatures crawling up and down the stairs. These lizard-like creatures were created by Escher and they are referred to as “wentelteefje.” Theme

Spindles/Balusters/Handrail

The spindles or balusters take up most of the space. These are the series of rods or columns extending from the top rail (another component) to the bottom rail (yet another component). The top rail is also called the handrail, an obvious reference to its role as the main hand support when going up or down the stairs. Styles & Designs Some stairway designs also add a unique style to the newels – the handrail supporting posts at the start and end of the stairway. Staircase specialist: If you decide to buy your staircase through a specialist staircase company it is likely they will be able to guide you when it comes to a design, taking your through your configuration and material options and coming up with several staircase design options. Cons:Very few, hence it being such a popular material. Though dark and heavy wood can, in some cases, be overbearing when used for such a central feature. Stair Width: Stair width is measured from edge to edge of each side of the tread, perpendicular to tread length. While measurements of length are conventionally longer than those of width when considering rectangles, in the case of steps, the width is usually the longer side. Stair width does not include handrails.

Sleator shifts from viewpoint to viewpoint in each chapter, creating five distinct personalities. The five kids are introduced as stereotypes, but none stay that way: even Blossom the mean girl turns out to have unexpected depths. Abigail and Oliver begin a strange, twisted relationship that is half pure teenager, half terror. Blossom, Oliver and Lola vie for control of the group, Blossom with lies and gossip; Oliver with force; Lola with desperate logic and intelligence. Lola manages to detox from cigarettes and get into shape through jogging on the stairs. (Since first reading this book, I have now had the fun of living with someone quitting smoking cold turkey, and let me tell you, a good half of the kids’ problematic issues can probably be blamed on Lola’s nicotine withdrawal alone.) Peter retreats more and more into his fantasy world, the only small comfort he has, beyond the food. The traditional overhead light is often not possible either because there is another staircase above or the ceiling is too high. If you are looking for a way to flood the entire staircase with light, install a fixture on the wall of the stairway landing. Make sure it is bright enough to extend up to the top or bottom of the stairs. By the end of the movie, I was convinced that I had not seen it before, but had, instead, read something that was extremely similar. I was sure that The Cube was basically a film adaptation of a short story or novel, but, no matter who I talked to, nobody seemed to remember a short story like that. For years, I kept trying to figure out what I had read that was so similar to The Cube (spoiler: It was House of Stairs) Barbara Vine is the pen-name of Ruth Rendell. She has written fifteen novels using this pseudonym, including A Fatal Inversion and King Solomon's Carpet which both won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger Award. Her other books include: A Dark Adapted Eye; The House of Stairs ; Gallowglass ; Asta's Book ; No Night Is Too Long ; In the Time of His Prosperity ; The Brimstone Wedding ; The Chimney Sweeper's Boy ; Grasshopper ; The Blood Doctor ; The Minotaur ; The Birthday Present and The Child's Child. Read more Details Run/Tread: The run or tread is the part of the stairway that a person steps on. Its length is measured from the outer edge of the step, which includes the nosing if it is present, to the vertical portion of the stair called the riser. Both nosing and riser are discussed below. When measuring the total run of a staircase, the length of the tread above the last riser is not included in the measurement. Also, when nosing is present, the total run is not simply the sum of tread length, since the overhang caused by the nosing must be subtracted from the total run.

Building codes generally require guards for stairs that have a total rise of more than 30 inches above the floor, and require that these guards be at least 34 inches (86.36 cm) in height measured from the top of the treads. Similarly, handrails must be between 34 and 38 (96.52) inches high measured from the top of the treads, with a diameter between 1.25 inches (3.18 cm) and 2.675 inches (6.79 cm). A joiner:An experienced joiner or carpenter should also be able to design and fabricate your staircase. This is often a more affordable option than using a staircase specialist. You could also come up with your own design and take it to a local joiner. Staircase Sizes Explained Ascending and Descending was influenced by, and is an artistic implementation of, the Penrose stairs, an impossible object; Lionel Penrose had first published his concept in the February 1958 issue of the British Journal of Psychology. Escher developed the theme further in his print Waterfall, which appeared in 1961. [2] Wooden staircases for traditional homes tend to be characterised by their substantial nature, rounded stair nosing, turned balusters and carved newel posts. However, timber can also be used in contemporary staircase design where it is often seen in the form of chunky wooden treads that cantilever out from a wall.

I don’t know. All I do know is that this is a book whose stairs and ending linger long in the memory. Escher suggests that not only the labours, but the very lives of these monk-like people are carried out in an inescapable, coercive and bizarre environment. Another possible source for the look of the people is the Dutch idiom monnikenwerk ("a monk's job"), which refers to a long and repetitive working activity with absolutely no practical purposes or results, and, by extension, to something completely useless. If you are going for the wow factor, there are a few stairs lighting ideas to borrow from. A unique one is to use multicolored LED strips that light up in different hues up the stairway. But be careful with this one as it can create a gaudy nightclub feel. The stairway is not just about rails and spindles. If there is a wall along the staircase, it is a great place to add family photographs and art. They provide a nice distraction from the arduous journey up.Full Carpeting– covers every inch of the stairway floor. It comes in handy if the stair flooring is not too appealing. If your stairs have a bit of wear and you don’t want to do a full remodel, full carpeting will cover the aging. On the downside, a full carpet is harder and more expensive to install. Talk about the costs with your contractor before you begin. In its way, it's even more disturbing than Lord of the Flies - at least the kids in that book had been left to their own devices, as terrible as they were. In this book, the horrors that these five teens go through are part of a deliberate state-sanctioned experiment in human conditioning - a kind of horrible, Pavlovian Breakfast Club. Such is the nature of that experiment that the two children who resisted the conditioning were actually regarded as failures. Upon reflection, the people pulling the strings are far more frightening and disturbing than these poor, manipulated children. The theme of this print is, once again, the defying of logic, as there are so many impossibilities in it if one looks closely and thinks shrewdly. Techniques Through the experiences of these five characters, Sleator explores how humans are affected by their environment and how they react to it in different ways. Although the circumstances the characters encounter may seem farfetched, even today behavioral scientists perform similar experiments on pigeons, rats, and dogs. People, too, have sometimes been used for tests by their governments or employers. By portraying a situation where characters' behaviors are so obviously being manipulated, Sleator alerts readers to the more subtle attempts at behavior modification that can occur in everyday life. Just as the young people in the story do not realize that they are manipulated, people in the real world are sometimes manipulated without recognizing it.

House of Stairs (1974) is a science fiction novel by William Sleator about orphaned teenagers placed in a house of stairs, similar to the lithograph print by M. C. Escher, which provided the novel's title and setting, [1] in a A contemporary glazed roof over the rebuilt side extension on the lower ground floor floods the interior of the property with glorious natural light. A large angled rooflight over the stairway is bonded to the end of the flat glass rooflights over the side extension. This provides a seamless transition as you move through the different levels of the property and directs the eye downwards into extended areas making the room feel much bigger. The SUNFLEX bifold doors at the rear of the kitchen leading into the garden link the internal and external spaces extremely well. More lovely light cascades in through the doors, whether they are open or shut. A cute window seat makes for a fabulous personal space to be able to enjoy the outside views within the comfort of the home too. The structure is embedded in human activity. By showing an unaccountable ritual of what Escher calls an 'unknown' sect, Escher has added an air of mystery to the people who ascend and descend the stairs. Therefore, the stairs themselves tend to become incorporated into that mysterious appearance.RiseThe vertical distance from the top of the tread to the top of the next one. Building Regs specify a minimum distance of 150mm to a maximum of 220mm. The total rise is the vertical distance from the floor to the floor of the level above. What's the stringer height? It's equal to the total rise in the case of a flush mount, and to total rise - rise in the case of a standard mount. Several years ago, I saw a movie called The Cube. It's a sort of low-budget thriller/horror movie about a group of strangers who find themselves trapped in a maze of cube-like rooms full of traps. As I watched it, I found myself having a strong sense of deja-vu. Where had I seen this before? Why was the premise so familiar?