Penthouse Staircase, Fitzrovia

The design for this particular staircase involved reducing the riser height for the treads and increasing the goings so that the ascent felt much more gentle and indulgent. The radiused treads offered a grand approach, screened by the central aerofoil wall. This wall is approximately 5 metres tall, and has a steel framework internally which then supports a plaster formwork.

The stairwell void was rectangular, and so the corners of the stairwell needed to be gently profiled to maximise the width of tread whilst also continuing the curved feel. The upper level landing formed a further three dimensional solid plinth which curved off the wall and returned with a gap of approximately 10mm being maintained as it offsets past the face of the central aerofoil.

The solid bronze handrail was bent and finished off site in the workshop, but a full size steel template was fabricated on site to gauge the correct curvature in three dimensions, with multiple fixings around the aerofoil. The bronze handrail was then bent to suit, brought to site to pre-fit, and then brought back to the workshop for final adjustments and to be patinated. The completed bronze handrail only had three fixings. There was one at the top, one at the bottom, and one at the midpoint.