Müllheim in southern Germany is the home of AUMA Riester GmbH & Co. KG, a mechatronics specialist. The company is building new headquarters with unique architectural features. One of them is a uniquely shaped and rounded concrete staircase that will be the highlight of the entrance hall. The stairs themselves revolve upward irregularly around a tulip-shaped inside core. 

The challenge facing MEVA engineers was translating the architect’s 3D model into a buildable and realistic plan in the first place. First they split the staircase into eight separate units, then worked out an exact pour plan for each. 

Following this, each unit was separated into formwork sections which were planned in CAD and handed over to special designs production company Kiefer Schalungsbau, from where they were delivered onto the site and assembled. Thanks to the exact pour outline and workflow planning for each unit, the site was able to start with the concrete pours without any delay. 

The centurion staircase, as the architectural gem was lovingly called, was finished on schedule and to the approval of architects, contractor and owner.