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The Archinect Stair Thread

le bossman

Hello

I'm a huge fan of stairs. I want to talk about, and see pictures of, interesting stairs.

 
Nov 12, 10 10:03 am
won and done williams
HOWIE46

I'm going to attempt to post an image of a small model. At one stage of the game I got enthusiastic about expanded mesh. tube under the middle needs to do some serious structural work. Howard - Canberra

Dec 3, 22 11:07 pm  · 
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le bossman

that's about a specific stair. this thread is pertinent to ALL stairs son.

Nov 12, 10 12:54 pm  · 
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Reviving (a better term than necro'ing, no?) this old thread to share this minimal take as part of a nice adaptive reuse/expansion by Giulia De Appolonia.


Atelier XYZ - Nicolò Galeazzi


via Domus


Dec 20, 20 12:33 pm  · 
3  · 

Some more good stair...though not a huge fan of the interior "monolithic" gray.


photo by Ivo Tavares Studio

Via Domus

Dec 20, 20 12:55 pm  · 
2  · 
JLC-1

photo by brent moss. 

Dec 20, 20 1:16 pm  · 
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JLC-1

Also did this one, photo from zillow


Dec 20, 20 1:18 pm  · 
1  · 
JLC-1

and this while in progress and finshed

Dec 20, 20 1:31 pm  · 
4  · 
JLC-1

2

Dec 20, 20 1:31 pm  · 
3  · 
JLC-1

3

photo by brent moss

Dec 20, 20 1:32 pm  · 
2  · 
b3tadine[sutures]

I love these stairs, take a look at the link.

Dec 20, 20 1:34 pm  · 
4  · 

Fuck that is gorgeous...is it really all wood?

Dec 20, 20 2:31 pm  · 
1  · 
lower.case.yao

That seems very slippery...

Dec 20, 20 2:53 pm  · 
1  · 
b3tadine[sutures]

Nam, I believe some of stair is clear carbon fiber.

Dec 20, 20 8:46 pm  · 
1  · 
citizen

It reminds me of a spinal column. Reclined ;o]

And how far do those cable intermediates span?  Amazing.

(And I don't hate that sculpture on the table, while we're at it.)

Dec 20, 20 9:09 pm  · 
2  · 
Wood Guy

From a project I was lead designer on. (i.e., I was involved in the design but others were as well.)

Dec 20, 20 3:13 pm  · 
2  · 
Wood Guy



From the interior of the same project. 

Dec 20, 20 3:16 pm  · 
3  · 
apscoradiales

what material are the stairs?

Dec 20, 20 5:40 pm  · 
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Wood Guy

Whitewashed quartersawn white oak. They look lighter here than in person, partly due to the huge windows directly behind the camera. The wall is black walnut with seven coats of hand-rubbed boiled linseed oil, with custom splines made of Richlite so there are no visible fasteners at all.

Dec 20, 20 7:15 pm  · 
3  · 
apscoradiales

Gorgeous! I thought they might be polished travertine.

Dec 20, 20 7:19 pm  · 
1  · 
Wood Guy

Thanks! I coordinated things but did not come up with the concept. I can see thinking they're travertine. It's too bad the photo is washed out. I could post more pics but don't want to take over the thread. We used gray travertine for the floor and walls of the principle bathroom. This is actually a walkout basement with dark gray porcelain tile on the floor, though it looks light gray.

Dec 20, 20 7:26 pm  · 
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apscoradiales

Do post pics, please.

Dec 20, 20 7:34 pm  · 
1  · 
Wood Guy

Aps, you can see more photos of the project here, including a close-up of the stairs: http://www.finelinesmaine.com/gallery/item/broad-cove-contemporary. That's the design/build firm where I was design manager. This project started as a typical 1960s ranch house (maybe a bit more than typical--it was featured in Better Homes and Gardens at one point) with the classic Andersen picture windows and boring details.

Dec 21, 20 7:50 am  · 
1  · 
apscoradiales

All lovely stuff! I like how they are all typically American style houses...no fake Mexican haciendas or Austrian-style Alpine houses - even though there is nothing wrong with them as long as they are in their native environment. Good work.

Dec 21, 20 9:37 am  · 
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Wood Guy

Thank you. I only designed a few of the projects shown and one could argue that the Greek Revival designs my employer was obsessed with are copies of copies of copies, but at least it's a common historical style around here. With the ranch-style house we were going for a midcentury modern feel but updated. So also fake, but at least the materials were mostly natural. Is anything truly unique?

Dec 21, 20 10:04 am  · 
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SneakyPete

Is the gap at the left wall open to below or is there a bottom to the reveal?

Apr 30, 21 4:10 pm  · 
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randomised

more a handrail than a stair, but still amazing:


Dec 21, 20 3:54 am  · 
3  · 
SneakyPete

Lewerentz is great. I find it frustrating because he's responsible for so many details that just aren't allowed or possible in my projects but all of my PICs keep demanding them.

Apr 30, 21 4:09 pm  · 
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Here the stair itself isn't so interesting but the handrail is unique...


Casa Witiza via Domus photo by Josè Hevia


Feb 14, 21 12:31 pm  · 
4  · 
natematt

Like many things... this looks dangerous...but fun.

Feb 15, 21 12:21 am  · 
2  · 

an "Art Barn" designed by architect Thomas Randall-Page for his father

Apr 29, 21 11:58 pm  · 
1  · 

Also dig this detail


Apr 30, 21 12:00 am  · 
5  · 
randomised

Is that cork on the wall?

Apr 30, 21 6:56 am  · 
1  · 
SneakyPete

Cork is a lovely wall material. Also floor material. FLW used it at the fallingwater bathrooms.

Apr 30, 21 1:51 pm  · 
2  · 
Non Sequitur

very convenient if you want to pin posters everywhere.

Apr 30, 21 2:44 pm  · 
1  · 
tduds

I'd be worried about cork on a bathroom floor absorbing the, uh, falling water.

Apr 30, 21 2:47 pm  · 
2  · 

Would you believe me if I told you that cork is naturally mold and mildew resistant, doesn't support growth of other biological agents, and doesn't absorb the, uh, falling water?

Apr 30, 21 3:09 pm  · 
6  · 
tduds

Great news!

Apr 30, 21 3:24 pm  · 
1  · 
Non Sequitur

are... are you offering a demonstration EA? Because if you are, I might pass and take your word instead.

Apr 30, 21 3:33 pm  · 
 · 

Your loss NS. Who doesn't want to demonstrate this in a FLW designed bathroom?

Apr 30, 21 6:54 pm  · 
2  · 
randomised

Nam, what a rich project that Art Barn, love it: https://www.archdaily.com/960146/art-barn-thomas-randall-page , not just the cork but everything

May 1, 21 2:50 pm  · 
2  · 
randomised

I actually have cork flooring in my apartment, everywhere except the bathroom. The cork was glued to the concrete floor already when we moved in and just decided to paint it white instead.

May 1, 21 2:58 pm  · 
1  · 

Here it isn't so much the stairs themselves as that structural mess.

photo by Chantal Andro


Jun 18, 21 12:31 am  · 
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Just realized that should have read "mesh".

Mar 21, 22 12:48 am  · 
1  · 

From the renewed and expanded La Samaritaine Paris Pont-Neuf department store by Sanaa et al via Domus


Jul 5, 21 12:59 am  · 
2  · 

Love this photo, from the news, of the MKM Duisburg by Herzog & de Meuron


© Photo: Simon Menges




Oct 6, 21 12:38 am  · 
4  · 

Also from the news via


Mar 6, 22 11:23 pm  · 
4  · 
citizen

These posts are great, Nam.  Thanks for stepping up.

Mar 7, 22 3:30 pm  · 
2  · 

My pleasure, glad someone is digging it!

Mar 21, 22 12:49 am  · 
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JonathanLivingston

You're totally raising the level of discourse around here to a new level.

Mar 21, 22 3:14 pm  · 
1  · 

interior and exterior stairs from a recent-ish project in Tokyo, with a dance studio on ground floor and living on 2 floors above. We made the stairs minimal as possible, aiming for something like a comic-book simplicity.


from dance studio to living space above

entry direct from street to the living



Mar 23, 22 2:29 pm  · 
6  · 

That's a lovely turn and shade of blue!

Mar 26, 22 4:18 pm  · 
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citizen

Looking at Will's post above, I was just remembering the good-old-bad-old days, designing houses for small lots in Venice (CA).  We could meet code with stairs 30" wide (clear), with 8" risers and 9" treads.   Almost a ship's ladder by today's standard, but how much flexibility it gave for floor planning!

Mar 23, 22 3:02 pm  · 
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Japan's code for houses allows for min750mm stairs (incl railing). And much steeper stairs than these. We have yet to build the legal limit as they are just a bit too close to ladders. But it does make it possible to build on a tight site. Amazingly, since the building code is national Tokyo and other urban centers set the code for the entire nation. Not to give an incorrect impression, anything other than houses is much more strict.

Mar 23, 22 4:19 pm  · 
1  · 

Here are some 'see through stairs' we did a few years ago on a middles school project.  We used 1/8" perforated bend plates for the risers with metal pan concrete treads.  



Mar 23, 22 5:48 pm  · 
5  · 

a "commercial building hallway, Centro, Buenos Aires."


via @Vanessa Bell

Dec 3, 22 1:07 am  · 
3  · 
Wood Guy

That is super cool. I love watching my steel fabricator roll railings through his forming tool, turning straight pipe into curves. What's up with the transition to straight railing, though?!

Feb 19, 23 10:50 am  · 
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HOWIE46

I'm going to attempt to post an image a second time. It's a small model of a steep stair.  At one stage of the game I got enthusiastic about expanded mesh. A tube under the middle needs to do some serious structural work. Howard - Canberra


Dec 4, 22 5:22 am  · 
2  · 
Wood Guy

Cool concept. Have you used alternating tread stairs? One of my builders uses them for temporary stairs. I'm coordinated but find them tricky to use.

Feb 19, 23 10:49 am  · 
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What do we think of this? Not sure I love(d) hardware details/lumber-looks but presumably more of a proof of concept and could be made more finally crafted or "lux"...


Feb 18, 23 11:10 pm  · 
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Wood Guy

Looks like typical site-built scaffolding to me. Probably not used much in urban areas but still seen regularly out here in the sticks. The wall iis more interesting than the stairs, to me.

Feb 19, 23 10:47 am  · 
1  · 

I count (at least) 2 maybe 3 neat stairs in this project by architettura-m via Domus

+


+

Mar 23, 23 12:30 am  · 
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Volunteer

Unless the stairs can be used by an elderly, or other person with permanent or temporary disability, they are a fail. The third photo from then bottom especially so. 

Mar 23, 23 10:17 am  · 
1  · 
b3tadine[sutures]

Meh. Merican.

Mar 23, 23 1:17 pm  · 
1  · 

I don't know too many people with a physical disability where a handrail on the stairs makes everything OK. In these types of situations stairs in general are not a good idea.

Mar 23, 23 1:21 pm  · 
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Volunteer

Well, no handrail on the stairs makes everything not OK. I am temporarily disabled right now and am using one handrail on the side of the stairs I installed when we moved in years ago, when nwe did not need it, as well as the one on the other side of the stairs that was already there. The stairs are about five feet in length.

Mar 23, 23 3:56 pm  · 
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Sounds like you shouldn't be using stairs. My doctor and PT friends say that if you can't use stairs without relying on the handrail(s) then you shouldn't be using them. That can't always happen like in your situation Volunteer. It's a good baseline though.

Mar 23, 23 4:00 pm  · 
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Volunteer

Your doctor is an idiot

Mar 23, 23 4:09 pm  · 
1  · 

Not my doctor. A doctor friend who is a disability specialist. Also a physical therapist that only works with physically disabled people. I'm going to believe her over you. Please keep in mind that a lot of people have to use the stairs even when they shouldn't. That's different and not ideal.

Mar 23, 23 4:13 pm  · 
1  · 

via Michael Shwartz

Oct 26, 23 11:54 pm  · 
1  · 
JLC-1

Strange choice of grab rail though.

Oct 27, 23 4:43 am  · 
1  · 

Why because the wood vs metal contrast? Or just the specific finish, sizing of this wood version? I'm imagining there could be a more industrial scaled/finish version, less handrail more raw timber or even Shou sugi ban, that would "match" better?

Oct 28, 23 11:56 pm  · 
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gwharton

They spent a LOT of money on all that metal, and kind of cheaped out on the wood rail. Even if it wasn't actually cheap, it looks like contractor-grade stuff. Too bad.

Oct 30, 23 7:16 pm  · 
1  · 
b3tadine[sutures]

I don't hate the wood so much as I hate the connecting element to the wood and plate steel. That, is regrettable.

Oct 30, 23 9:10 pm  · 
2  · 

Author/critic Owen Hatherley shared a nice range of stair (related) images from a trip to Hong Kong/China. Including;

Also was a bit surprised by the seeming amount of Moderne buildings in Hong Kong.

Jan 15, 24 12:25 am  · 
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