Interior House Design: Carpenter Lowings Creates Scary Glass Staircase

James Carpenter Design Associates (JCDA) is a cross-disciplinary design firm working at the intersection of architecture, art, design, and engineering. Led by James Carpenter, the firm is recognized for its distinctive use of natural light, which serves as the foundation of its design philosophy. Brabbu´s blog would like to show you an outstandig Interior House Design project.

This patterned glass staircase forms the centrepiece of an apartment in Hong Kong, and leads up through a skylight to a roof terrace overlooking the bay.

British architect Luke Lowings of Carpenter Lowings worked with American sculptor James Carpenter on the design for the stand-alone staircase, which forms the center project of the newly renovated apartment. When closed, the skylight frames a view of the sky that is reflected in a pair of large structure glass screens partially enclosing the staircase. These glass screens are printed with a linear pattern that is intended to be evocative of falling rain. Together with the reflections and veined marble surfaces of the hall, they create a disorienting effect.

Above it, the four-metre-wide skylight in the roof helps to bring natural light into the interior, but also folds open to provide access to the roof. The skylight is raised by two hydraulic rams. It has in-built sensors that prevent it from closing on obstructions.
For safety reasons, an alarm sounds as the glass door shuts, helping to prevent residents from being accidentally trapped on the roof.