Paired with smart technology, the rotational camera door controls the amount of light at the entrance space. It also creates a pocket space for reception or a photo spot when rotates at 180 degrees. The same space also functions as a temporal waiting area during seminars for latecomers to watch relay without disturbing other audience. Sitting across from the camera door, the aperture stairs form part of an ongoing spatial dialogue of photography and design. Inspired by the camera aperture, the circular stairs play with light, shadow, and speed.

It connects the two black-and-white gallery space, offering a smooth spatial transition. Constrained by the low ceiling height and loading limitation, the construction of this stairs was extremely difficult. The design team overcame these challenges by constructing an additional structural frame on the 7/F, which is also part of the owner’s property, to hang the stairs from above and transferred the weight to the columns. To achieve precise twisting, 3-D printing and casting were used to fabricate the stairs.

Brass was used as the main material for the two design features. To capture the interaction between the photographer and their camera, both the camera door and aperture stairs were fabricated using brass and painted in black. Over time, the black paint will peel off, revealing the brass underneath, documenting f22’s interaction with visitors. Credits: Carlow Architecture & Design, BeFrank and Yasuhiro Kaneda Structure, Made in LAAB with AVT, Buddy Concept, Chi Keung Kee, Golden Smart, Linko, Profit+, and many more, Milkxhake, DCinematic & LAAB Architects, LAAB in collaboration with Studio Coming Soon and Studio818 Credits: - LAAB in collaboration with Studio Coming Soon and Studio818 - cafe22 Designers & Fabricators - Made in LAAB with AVT, Buddy Concept, Chi Keung Kee, Golden Smart, Linko, Profit+, and many more - Contractors & Fabricators - BeFrank and Yasuhiro Kaneda Structure - Stair Structural Engineers - Milkxhake - Branding & Signage Designer - Carlow Architecture & Design - Design Architect - DCinematic & LAAB Architects - Video Producer & Photographer