Stairs

Lifestyle Koubou Stairs pg 113

A couple enlist Butler Armsden Architects and Leverone Design to reimagine their home as a multigenerational meeting point. In 1963, landscape designer Lawrence Halprin devised a master plan for a community that would live in harmony with the natural environment. The resulting Sea Ranch, which stretches 10 miles along the Pacific coastline in Sonoma County, California, is characterized by timber-frame, wood-clad structures that are in dialogue with the local climate and terrain. Sited on a bluff within this pioneering community is the vacation home of a lawyer couple. After purchasing the residence in 2007, they lived in the home as it was for four years, even keeping the previous owners’ furniture. Envisioning a retreat that would accommodate their extended family and guests, they then recruited Butler Armsden Architects and Leverone Design to help guide the project.

A couple reconfigure a dilapidated Brooklyn brownstone and prepare it for the 21st century.

Architects Antje Freiesleben and Johannes Modersohn combined two barn-like wings and a large connecting hall/breezeway for a retreat in New Brunswick. A space between the concrete foundation and the house’s raised wood platform allows the snowmelt to pass through in spring. The 21-foot-wide accordion doors are by HFBB Holzfensterbau Bernau and were shipped from Germany.

Entering the apartment from the street level, guests meet a dramatic, three-story atrium and a feature staircase. A glass balustrade heightens the effect.

Louis did much of the woodworking in the house, including the fabrication of the white oak stair treads. The ironwork was crafted by Alex and Gio Welding. A Glo Ball pendant by Jasper Morrison for Flos hangs in front of the staircase.

Located on 22nd Street, Silver Top House sits between the neighborhood’s dense residential row houses and the large scale industrial district. The home’s massing responds to the linear and angular warehouse bridge, while the 22nd street façade looks to the residential row houses for proportion and fenestration relationships.

The stairs are partically hidden behind a slatted ash screen that supports steel bookshelves.

Says the architect, James Wagman Architect, “Our client, a sculptor, also required the additional space to accommodate her artwork. A custom helix staircase became the central focus with various upgrades throughout. Special attention was paid to decorative details and finishes to complement her metal sculpture decorating her home.”

The new spaces recall the original design with their use of natural materials like wood and stone.

Architect Drew Mandel updated a house in Toronto to look modern and cozy. The clients desired a warm material base for the interior so Mandel used American walnut for the flooring, millwork, and staircase. Loire limestone covers the landing below the steps and Calacatta marble clads the kitchen counters and island.

Exposed beams and a cantilevered loft soar over the high-traffic eating area, giving the family a sense of spaciousness.

Architects Sara and Jeremy Imhoff and their son Jonah use the renovated kitchen in their 1918 bungalow in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood.

There was no room in the 2,000-square-foot house for a staircase to a new upstairs office, so the Imhoffs installed a small, wooden alternating-tred lapeyre stair.

The stairs are made of reclaimed timber.