Stairs

"Following natural daylight, going up along the steel staircase, we can see modified skylights, vertical lighting windows, and a pure outdoor space," says Liu. "This is the area we modified most. The whole building starts from light and vertical space."

View of the stairs leading to the attic

Open-tread stairs link the three floors.

Inside, the vertical lines expressed by the exterior screen are replicated in the staircase that connects the four floors.

The pillars are built of Douglas fir, while the sturdy footings are made from aircraft aluminum.

A staircase leads up to private areas.

The new staircase was installed next to old windows on the east wall, and ascends to a light-filled hall above.

The open hallway and staircase increase the flow of light and feeling of airiness.

The staircase of the main house.

Living room space, integrated between a horizontal relation of external areas.

At the meeting point of these two masses, public and private spaces, is a vertical axis that cuts the horizontal plane with the use of a staircase that goes through all levels of the house.

Rytis Mikulionis relaxes on a sectional sofa of his design, below a monumental Bul reading lamp by Ligne Roset. He gazes at the winter haze streaming through a grand picture window, the flat’s only source of natural light.

This stairway gets a very on-trend arch treatment.

Below a twisting steel staircase sits a stool from the impossibly rare 1967 Girard Group for Herman Miller (it was only produced for one year). Stevens rennovated the home from top to bottom, including the Japanese-style fence in the garden.

The main staircase consists of simple oak treads that cantilever out from side walls sheathed in natural vertical board and are supported on the other side by a continuous grill-like railing truss.

The walnut staircase and slide in a Chicago town house leads from the main level to the basement. To protect people on the ride down, a “crash pad” fashioned from a standard gymnastic mat covers the wall at the slide’s base.