Stairways secured with stainless steel mesh

Initial situation and concept:

The current school building Dietrichgasse 36 in Vienna was built in 1911. During the First World War, the school building was temporarily used as a hospital. During the Second World War the school was closed again and later reopened. The building survived the war period without major damage. In the years 1968 – 1971 a general renovation took place.

Today, the building houses an elementary and secondary school. In 2017 – 2019, the entire building was rebuilt and generously expanded. The existing staircases were completely renovated and extended, and some of them were also raised. The responsible architects planned a light, translucent fall protection for the staircases. At the same time, this was to comply with the applicable standards. In order to solve these plans structurally, the choice fell on Webnet from Jakob Rope Systems.

Design and implementation:

The opening between the flights of stairs was closed room-high with Webnet. The handrails to be installed were to be attached to vertically running stainless steel cables without additional uprights. Visually, they are thus very discreetly integrated – they almost appear to be free-floating.

Seilerei Wüstner GmbH, together with the company Stipkovits & Prenka GmbH, realized an overall functional and filigree solution that gives the staircases of the school building a modern and light-flooded design.

Details and geometry:

• A total of over 400 m² of Webnet was installed (Ø 1.5 mm rope, mesh size 40 mm)
• Over 380 m of stainless steel cable (Ø 8 mm, 6 × 7 + WC) was needed for assembly
• The handrails were installed by the company Stipkovits & Prenka GmbH on the Jakob ropes and run through all floors without interruption.

(Photos: Romana Fürnkranz)