The MAADI Group, Inc. designed and fabricated an aluminum staircase to to descend a steep hillside in the Parc de la Rivière Beauport in Quebec City, Canada. From street level, the staircase’s welded aluminum structure with timber deck descends 15 m (50 ft.) in a gradual zig-zag through the trees. The city specified aluminum for its durability and relative lack of maintenance beyond annual inspections.
Working from conceptual drawings in the City of Quebec’s call for proposals, MAADI Group created a design based on CSA S157 standards for aluminum structures. Once the design was engineer-approved, the company fabricated all the parts according to quality standards and welding norms. Within 90 days of design approval, MAADI sent the disassembled insulators, guardrail installation hardware, pile head bearings, railings, staircases, belvedere, and smaller footbridges to Quebec City. The finished staircase incorporates 6061-T6 and 3003-H14 mill-finish aluminum extruded sections combined with 3 mm and 6 mm plate and expanded mesh for the balustrade.
The staircase was a challenge to construct due to the steep, tree covered terrain and the specification that the trees not be harmed in any way. “With a crane that we installed on the street above, we lowered the parts down the hillside,” said Chantal Cadoret, project manager at Maxi-Paysage, Inc., the landscape contractor responsible for the whole project. Speaking of MAADI Group, Cadoret said, “Everything went well and we were very satisfied with their work, the finished product, and their follow-up. If we have another project with structures like these, we will certainly call on their services.”
This aluminum staircase was featured in the fourth edition of “Aluminium: Flexible and Light” by Michael Stacey. Published by the International Aluminium Institute (IAI), the book displays and discusses various illustrations and examples of the modern use of aluminum in architecture and the built environment.