Laurentian Library stair: Michelangelo

Architects spend a great deal of time thinking about stairs.  Personally, I've always been fascinated by gorgeous stairs.  This would include the Laurentian Library stair by Michelangelo, the famous staircase by Louis Barragan, John Pawson (his own house);  and Louis Kahn (the Yale Art Museum).

John Pawson: Pawson House stair

Lou Kahn's stair at the Yale Art Museum

hanrahan Meyers architects have designed a few stairs, and we've put a lot of thought into each of them -  not that we believe that we equal the efforts cited above. 

Below I'm showing the stair hMa designed linking Pratt Pavilion to the bridge that links Steuben and Pratt Studios together. 

  Pratt Pavilion stair, Brooklyn, NY; post Victoria Meyers architect

The Pratt Stair was designed using hot rolled steel shaped into a single folded plate to make treads and risers.  The landing is a larger steel box.  The blackened steel is a result of the industrial process used to roll the steel (hot roll) – and the rails and balustrades are in the same material.  The stair is framed by the leftover remnants of the original Stueben Hall brick wall, excavated and opened, to create a new stair hall facing the Entry Lobby for the new Pratt Design Center.

Holley Stair at Holley House in Garrison, New York, is a simple maple wood stair that follows the pitch of the adjacent hill.  The stair becomes cinematic in relationship to the movable wall panel that separates the stair view from the living area. (see below)

  Holley House in Garrison, NY: post Victoria Meyers architect

Schrom Studio Stair is a free-standing sculpture in maple -  a solid carved block of wood – that lands on an open steel deck.  (see below).

Schrom Studios: post Victoria Meyers architect

At Ash 4Ways (White Space) hMa designed a 2-step down into the apartment, layering structural glass over old growth Ash from our collaborator, Hisao Hanafusa (Miya Shoji).  See below:

Ash 4 Ways/ White Space post: Victoria Meyers architect

This iconic photograph by hMa photographer Michael Moran captures the spirit of this composition.