Maisons sans escalier, Modern residential complex in Saint-Étienne, France.

Maisons sans escalier are two identical six-storey housing blocks at 54 and 56 boulevard Daguerre in Saint-Étienne, each holding 36 flats. Their circular plan, broken by six projecting edges, alternates a circle and a hexagon on the facade. Inside, flats open onto a central volume lit by a reinforced-concrete dome pierced with glass bricks, served by a gently sloping helical ramp instead of stairs.

Auguste Bossu built the two identical buildings at 54 and 56 Boulevard Daguerre in 1933 and 1939-1940. The first building's facades, terraces, inner courtyard, helical ramp and glazed walls were listed as monuments historiques on 21 February 1989, and the complex received the Patrimoine du XXe siècle label.

The name comes from the "chalet de Bizillon" cabaret that once occupied the site. Auguste Bossu's own advertising text called the ramp "la maison de demain", arguing that steps force the same pace on children, the elderly and the sick, while a gentle gallery lets each person walk at their own rhythm.

The two buildings stand at 54 and 56 boulevard Daguerre, a short walk apart. Only the first building (54) is inscribed as a monument historique and labelled Patrimoine du XXe siècle, so its facades, terraces, inner courtyard, helical ramp and glass roofs are the parts to look at. The dwellings are private homes: view the entrance, water jets and mineral compositions from the street.

The two buildings are mirror-identical twins, yet they were built six years apart: number 54 in 1933, number 56 in 1939-1940. The first building's facades, terraces, inner courtyard, helical ramp and glass roofs were listed as monuments historiques on 21 February 1989, and it also carries the "Patrimoine du XXe siècle" label.