A staircase at the centre of this Amsterdam apartment has risers that are almost but not quite at right angles to the treads.
Added during a renovation by Dutch studio Laura Álvarez Architecture, the white steel stairs climb up between the kitchen and lounge areas of an open-plan living room.
The staircase leads up to a bathroom and two bedrooms that feature exposed wooden eaves and an 11-metre-long shared closet.
You can check out all our stories about staircases that are a little out of the ordinary here.
Photography is by Ewout Huibers.
Here's a full explanation from Laura Álvarez:
Apartment Singel by laura alvarez architecture
Dutch firm laura alvarez architecture has completed the renovation and interior design of a two-floor apartment in Amsterdam. The building is catalogued as a national monument.
Architect Alvarez says: The main idea was to transform the dark and claustrophobic existing apartment into a bright loft and at the same time bring into view special elements of the ancient building.
A 70 m2 living area is located on the first floor. It is conceived as a continuous space capable to host different living activities without dividing them into different rooms.
A light steel staircase creates a transition between cooking and dining area. A series of satin-glass walls have been introduced in the upper floor to bring natural light into the lower level and the bathroom.
An oak grey-painted window bench provides a seat to enjoy the beautiful view towards the Amsterdam channels. It is also thought as storage cabinets.
A nut-wood sliding door gives the possibility to close off the entrance hall from the living space. As the clients enjoy very much cooking, the kitchen has been designed with special kitchen appliances to fulfil all their needs.
On the upper floor we can find a guest room and the main sleeping room . Both spaces are experienced as one large room that can be split into two in case of need. The bathroom is situated between these two rooms. Existing plaster walls have been removed in order to bring the old roof-beams into view.
An eleven meter long closet has been designed to be used as storage and as wardrobe. An existing colourful closet is been used to define the height of the closet and to break the long white line of the new furniture.
An indirect light is been placed above the closet to accentuate the continuity of the space. Lighting has been carefully chosen and indirect light has been designed to allow different possibilities to the apartment.
Frameless doors and plain plinths contribute to perceive the space asa secuence of pure and sharp surfaces. The bamboo floor gives a warm feeling upstairs whereas on the first floor a gray epoxy floor creates a balanced contrast with the nut wood elements.
Location: Singel, Amsterdam
, The Netherlands
Architect: laura alvarez architecture
Constructor: Smart Interiors
Woodworks: Kooijmans Interieurs
Project Year: 2011-2012
Area: 120 m2
Lightning: Foscarini, Rotaliana, Tom Dixon, Arturo Alvarez, Delta Light
Furniture: Piet Hein Eek, La Palma, Fernando Jimenez
Kitchen appliances: Boretti
Bathroom: AET, Hansa, Villeroy & Bosch
Nice, but I would fall off those stairs straight into the kitchen.
haha what an odd first sentence, perhaps written by someone who has not worked in an architecture office? Slanted risers are quite common in contemporary practice due to codes requiring overlap between treads…
I wouldn´t want to fall from that stair…
Is that a stainless steel easy bake oven in pic#5?
As would i. Broken arms all round, stairs of death!
The stair looks too steep for these tired legs of mine. But overall the whole project looks clean and harmonious :)
specially friday night when you drink a couple glass of wine. With my two years old kid, this is not a project for me. I must say the design is amazing.
This is a party house. Crowds of people enjoying alcohol will use that stairs. I hope the architect is carrying a large insurance policy.
Those stairs meet all requirements of the Dutch building code…I can walk these stairs with my eyes closed and one hand tied to my back…
Why is it a 'stair out of the ordinary'? its nice but it looks quite normal to me.
Wow, a new architectural invention: risers which are not on a right angle with the threads. I've never seen that before….
Whatever the functional issues the stair raises, it really looks great in the apartment and minimizes its intrusion in the space.
Don't bother the stairs, I fell in love with the 3 black armatures hung above the table!
This is a typical Dutch sized stair, very commun in NL. Well designed. Bravo!
Nice and smooth detailing
Inspired design. The stairs are like a sculpture and the exposed beams are wonderful.