'Go ahead, architect...'

A beautiful statement by Mark Geerts, agent for the Dutch company Eestairs. With this statement Geerts challenges the architect not to hold back when it comes to designing stairs. No design so crazy, or Eestairs will make it, in the desired form, with a stair covering all around of your choice.

Not for nothing has Eestairs been working with renowned architects for years, who understand that a staircase in a building should not only be functional, but also safe and above all an addition of aesthetic value. Within any interior, whether residential, business or public, a staircase is an eye-catcher. Eestairs stairs invite to be used and for many architects are the icing on the cake, adding flavor to interior design.

Innovation is paramount

Cornelis van Vlastuin, founder and designer at Barneveld-based Eestairs, is constantly looking for innovations in the field of stairs and balustrades. Although the company specializes entirely in engineering and producing custom staircases and balustrades, Vlastuin felt the time was right to also introduce standard staircases to the market. 

"In this regard, the distinguishing feature is of course in the design, execution and service that Eestairs has to offer," Geerts explains. "This makes Eestairs enormously complete in its offering, which ranges from a large, majestic custom staircase as an eye-catcher in a large hall, to standard solutions with a clear signature to the now well-known 1m² staircases we make. The latter solution finds eager acceptance in the Netherlands and Belgium in places traditionally "tightly built. Small houses gain space by cutting back on the square footage within which the stairs are located. Fully functional, beautiful stairs with a very modest footprint, in other words." 

Glass parapets in an unprecedented, new concept

At Eestairs, it's not just about the stairs, but also about everything around them. Under the flag 'GroovEe', Eestairs introduces a new form of parapet, a glass balustrade, but without balusters. Geerts explains, "A cleverly thought-out mounting system makes it possible to place the glass sections directly into the concrete floor section. This is not only a valuable addition on the aesthetic level, this way of working is also cost-saving, faster and very reliable. Instead of having to work with aluminum extrusion profiles and clamping systems, GroovEe allows working without a clamping profile. This is very suitable for projects, where meters can be made quickly and safely."

How does GroovEe work? "The concrete or precast fabricator receives a plastic (HPVC) profile from us, which is cast into the floor slab. This can be done in either straight or curved form. Once the concrete slabs are in place, the glass fitter can install the panels directly into the plastic profile. The end result is an easily installed, clean-looking transparent balustrade, without division by balusters and not subject to maintenance. For architects, this offers unprecedented opportunities to provide transparent parapets in the design wherever they want, without the need for unsightly mounting systems," says Geerts in conclusion.