Inspired by boatbuilding techniques, the sculptural central stringer of the new timber stair is fabricated from 25mm thick birch ply with full-height and closely-spaced vertical routed grooves to achieve the single-curvature geometry from a single sheet of ply; the grooves were filled with a hand-applied epoxy/sawdust compound to smooth the surface and to hold the shape, and then finished with a layer of fibreglass and painted.
The stair stringer is top hung, leaving an expressed gap between the base of the stringer and the lower tread. The Ash treads, dovetailed and dowelled, restrain the stringer laterally and torsionally back to the perimeter stud walls. We worked closely with the joiner throughout the construction and fabrication process to achieve an elegant staircase with no visible fixings.
Completed 2016.
