Stairway to Heaven
- Year
- 2019
- Type
- Residential
- Status
- Built
- Location
- San Francisco, United States
This residential stair connects three floors in a San Francisco home we designed the architecture and interiors for. The entry area of this house was wide but shallow, and hence the stair shape was designed as a flattened ellipse but not mathematically pure – hence “ellipsoidal”. Moreover, at each floor the radii of the railing walls are different to create a subtle spatial dynamic. It’s complicated in actuality, but the result is elegant simplicity and lightness, which was the intention. These sculpted shapes were common during the Baroque era in Rome – especially churches designed by Italian architect Borromini, himself known for creating unexpected radicality.
This residential stair connects three floors in a San Francisco home we designed the architecture and interiors for. The entry area of this house was wide but shallow, and hence the stair shape was designed as a flattened ellipse but not mathematically pure – hence “ellipsoidal”. Moreover, at each floor the radii of the railing walls are different to create a subtle spatial dynamic. It’s complicated in actuality, but the result is elegant simplicity and lightness, which was the intention. These sculpted shapes were common during the Baroque era in Rome – especially churches designed by Italian architect Borromini, himself known for creating unexpected radicality.