Designing a Custom Heavy Timber & Steel Stair
My client owns a beautiful heavy timber industrial building with brick and steel accents. The structure was built in 1915 and originally functioned as a wholesale hardware and mining supplies distribution center. Now, it hosts design and tech tenants. (Read more about the project and see more photos of the lobby renovations here!)
The existing lobby was extremely dated. Structural elements were masked with layers of worn white paint, tacky railings surrounding the open mezzanine space, and a gigantic not so attractive stair interrupted the flow of pedestrian traffic in the lobby.
Among other projects in the building, our team renovated the lobby. One aspect of the renovation was the redesign of the heavily trafficked lobby to mezzanine stair.
The existing stair had two landings and was prominently places in the lobby. The client wanted more useable lobby space and a less prominent stair, so we moved the stair to a different bay and eliminated the intermediate landing.
I wanted the design to mimic the heavy-duty structure of the building (which is composed of Douglas Fir columns with steel connection plates and banding), so I chose black steel as the primary structural element and added accent wood treads, which we tried to match as closely as possible to the original columns. Mesh guardrails and under-tread LEDs add an element of elegance to the otherwise heavy-duty materials.
The railings have a flat extruded appearance which mimics the flat bands of existing steel structural elements. Semi-transparent mesh panels are inset in the railings. They wrap up from the stairs and around the mezzanine; appearing opaque up close and more transparent when looking from farther away.
These photos are from a progress site visit; I am excited for the remainder of the lobby to be completed. What do you think? Does the heavy timber complement the lobby?