Hannsjörg Voth - Sky Stairs (1980-87)
Hannsjörg Voth
Himmelstreppe, Er Rachidia, Morocco, 1980-1987“I wish to build a triangular-shaped clay structure in the south of Morocco. The tradition of building with clay is unbroken in Morocco, therefore local craftsmen will construct the ‘Himmelstreppe’ [‘stairway to heaven’]. The triangle, the long leg of which measures 23 metres (the floor), has a height of 16 metres. The hypotenuse has a length of 28 metres: Here, between two balustrade walls measuring 140 centimetres in height and 50 centimetres in width, there is a stairway of 52 steps … The 52 steps lead up to a platform at a height of 4 metres below the top of the building. From this platform one reaches two vertically stacked rooms. After completion of the ‘Himmelstreppe’ I would like to live in the lower room for several months and during this time make an object consisting of two wings in the upper room …”
(Text: hannsjoerg-voth.de)
