Onward and Upward

Imagination always trumps pretension. That tenet wasn't lost on LTL Architects, formerly Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis, when assembling specs for the redo of a 1930's town house in New York. "Rather than using exorbitant or exotic materials in conventional ways, the strategy was to employ basic materials inventively," Marc Tsurumaki explains. The cylinder enclosing the spiral staircase at the center of the 2,000-square-foot house starts out as mere blackened steel. The genius comes in the execution, as CNC water jets cut out random oblongs from the sheet metal, creating the effectof a diaphanous veil or a crumbling mosaic. Downstairs, between the kitchen and dining area, the enclosure's latticework remains open. Up in the master bedroom, the steel is backed by milky-white annealed, laminated glass. A door of the same materials slides around on concealed tracks to close off the stairwell for privacy. And the metamorphosis from stair to sculpture is complete.

1. One of Veyko's custom blackened-steel perforated panels. 215-928-1349; veyko.com.
2. The kitchen's custom oak cabinetry and maple paneling by Niclas Berry. 718-497-7285; niclasberryinc.com.
3. Niclas Berry's custom laser-cut maple panel, part of the original concept that did not end up in the final project.
4. A teak panel for cabinets in the master bath, laser-cut by Niclas Berry.
5. LTL's own Parallel Lines vinyl wall coverings for Knoll, also edited out. 877-615-6655; knolltextiles.com.
6. A stained maple panel for the master bedroom cabinetry by Niclas Berry.
7. The kitchen cabinetry's stained oak by Niclas Berry.
8. Bent Glass Design's annealed and laminated custom panels backing the stair enclosure in the master bedroom. 215-441-9101; bentglassdesign.com.
9. The enclosure with its door rolled back on tracks.

From top: Inside the stair enclosure on the New York town house's ground level. The blackened steel, cut out by water jets. The enclosure as seen from the living area. LTL Architects partners Paul Lewis, Marc Tsurumaki, and David J. Lewis.