Spiral Staircase at Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art | Wall Art

Architectural Spiral Staircase from the Chicago MCA

Standing beneath this staircase inside the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, I felt like I was inside a sculpture rather than a building. The lines weren’t just structural—they were sculptural, intentional, cinematic. What you’re looking at is the underside of the main stairwell, shot from the ground floor directly upward. From this angle, the design resolves into something strikingly symbolic—like an eye, hovering in space.

This isn’t some trick of editing. It’s how the architecture was built—layered steel, poured concrete, crisp edges, and soft curves all spiralling upward in perfect symmetry. It’s rare to find a structure that feels this complete from every angle. Even rarer to find one that holds together when flattened into two dimensions. But this one does.

The Museum of Contemporary Art is full of progressive work—bold installations, provocative pieces—but this staircase holds its own. It’s part function, part feature, part optical illusion. The more you stare at it, the more it starts to shift: is it an eye? A ripple? A lens? The design pulls you in, holds your gaze, and gives you something timeless to sit with.

I photographed this as part of a broader series on modern structures—real places that flirt with abstraction without losing their grounding in everyday use. This is architecture with personality. And in print form, it becomes more than a staircase. It becomes a centrepiece.

If this piece speaks to you, you might enjoy the rest of my Architectural Photography Collection—a series built on lines, form, and moments of perfect design.

© Dan Kosmayer, 2024