Seriously good stairs by Milton Ramos in the hall of the Itamaraty Palace in Brasília. Home to the Ministry of International Affairs, the palace’s exterior was designed by Oscar Niemeyer, the architect behind the vast majority of the capital city’s original architecture, while Ramos took charge of its plush inner spaces, which are punctuated by many eye-catching works of art. But this poured-concrete helix staircase, enlivened by a deep blue carpet, is arguably the most mesmerising element of all, its sweeping sculptural form unhindered by bannisters or railings to breathtaking effect.
