The Never-ending Escherian Stairwell – Go right back to where you started from

May 18, 2013

Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) has an incredible set of stairs which were designed by a Filipino architect Rafael Nelson Aboganda ala Escher-style. An architectural marvel that seems to violate the laws of physics and basic logic by looping back into itself. An optical illusion you may actually participate in.

Just check it out….

Oh, FYI… the first few minutes are [yawn] boring. Skip ahead to 1:35 to see the wonder of these stairs.

Imagine RIT 2013 (feat. The Escherian Stairwell) – Ep. 3

Here is some cell phone footage from a group of RIT students who found the stairs and recorded their journey to nowhere.

RE Escherian Stairwell: We found it!

Want to know the details of this stairwell? Just check out these sites:

RIT: Search for the Escherian Stairwell at Imagine RIT
Kickstarter: The Stairwell Project: Building a Modern Myth

TAGS:

Escher, Escherian Stairwell, illusion, Kickstarter, MC Escher, optical illusion, RIT, Rochester Institute of Technology, staircase, Stairway, students

10 responses to “The Never-ending Escherian Stairwell – Go right back to where you started from”

PiedType

May 19, 2013 at 12:07 am

!!!!???? I think my brain is melting. This does not compute. I’m off to read about this because at the moment I am baffled!

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1. Michelle
  
  May 19, 2013 at 2:00 pm
  
  So was I. I had my nose scrunched up to the monitor looking for mirrors and all other kinds of stuff.
  
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Helen Cherry

May 19, 2013 at 5:10 am

I just don’t understand AT ALL how this can work.. I’ve seen it before but I still don’t get it !

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1. Michelle
  
  May 19, 2013 at 2:01 pm
  
  Ahhh.. the magic of illusion. 🙂
  
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Anonymous

May 19, 2013 at 7:54 am

it isn’t real. clever video editing.

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Cindy Brown (@hiyacynthia)

May 20, 2013 at 1:22 pm

Yes, the link to the Kickstarter tells all. Not real, but a well-done myth building exercise. Wow, now with that, I’m impressed 🙂

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1. Michelle
  
  May 20, 2013 at 3:24 pm
  
  I was for sure it was a real optical illusion. I don’t believe in magic, but know how powerful illusions can be when combined with the power of suggestion. I stopped the video, looked for any type of clue. Everything. And couldn’t figure out how they did that. Then I did some more research about it….. Did a great job with the video.
  
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La bufala della scala nessuna illusione ne magia | Mistero Risolto

September 18, 2013 at 11:14 am

[…] vero progetto però non è la scala che si trova nell’edificio Gannett proprio presso il RIT (LINK) ma bensì di ingannare le persone con la creazione di un mito falso di questa “meraviglia […]

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yas

November 9, 2014 at 11:18 am

How do they enter or exit?

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1. Anonymous
  
  December 8, 2014 at 10:46 am
  
  The stairs are an illusion and so are the side railings…..there are actually no stairs…..on either sides, though the video looks edited to me….this actually is possible using artwork imagination
  
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