This book and its companion volume External Components encourage an evaluation of alternative methods for putting components together. Both use contemporary case studies to relate component design to real building.

Stairs are a fundamental and universal feature of buildings. The late Alan Blanc had a lifetime's obsession with stairs and steps and provided a definitive reference source that bridges the aesthetic and practical aspects of staircase design. His wife Sylvia, who worked with him on the first edition, presents this updated, abridged version alongside a complimentary web site where the historical elements of the subjects are described and discussed in pictures and diagrams. The book is a practical guide to designing circulation spaces. It is extensively detailed with working drawings and...