lang="en-US"> Architectural Details: 10 Dramatically Floating Staircases - Architizer Journal

Architectural Details: 10 Dramatically Floating Staircases

Like walking on air, each design creates a rare moment of wonder and surprise.

Eric Baldwin

The Main Entry Deadline for Architizer's 2025 A+Product Awards is Friday, December 6. Get your brand in front of the AEC industry’s most renowned designers by submitting today.

 

Staircases capture the imagination. As both literal and figurative paths, stairs allude to other spaces as transitional and connective elements. Symbolically, they can suggest movement, discovery or a turning point. They grant access between levels as a form of vertical circulation that holds its own inherent power. Through ascension we can rise to new heights; through descent we may uncover new lows. Staircases are striking centerpieces that have been continuously reimagined. Today, modern stairs are designed to be as functional as they are sculptural, balancing innovation and elegance.

Floating staircases appear as weightless steps seemingly devoid of structure or support. Using cantilevers, reinforcement or thoughtfully composed rails, these contemporary designs are made as minimalist vertical expressions. Each of the following 10 projects from the Architizer database features a unique floating staircase. Whether built with industrial materials or raw, elemental aesthetics, the stairs combine craft and detailing to form novel experiences. Like walking on air, each design creates a rare moment of wonder and surprise.

© a21 studio

© a21 studio

© a21 studio

The Tent 1 by a21 studio, Natural Heritage Area Trang, Vietnam

Formed as a small spa space and rock terrace, the Tent project provides an escape from the region’s intense heat. The large, structural steeped roof blocks sunlight while an elegant floating stair descends from a net space to the pools and terrace below.

© Filippo Bamberghi

© Filippo Bamberghi

Casa Moscova by studio GUM, Milan, Italy

Made with careful consideration of its context, the Moscova house was built as a rectangular volume that reinterprets the ‘telescope’ organization of ancient palaces. Oriented on an axis with views onto the skyline of Porta Garibaldi, the project is structured around a staircase system that grants access from each room to any part of the house, on both levels.

© Studio MK27

© Studio MK27

© Studio MK27

Casa Branca by StudioMK27 – Marcio Kogan, São Sebastião, Brazil

Located along the beach on the northern coast of São Paulo, the White House project considers comfort and building maintenance in its tropical context. Wooden perforated doors combine with a floating stair that ascends to the living quarters above.

© Apollo Architects and Associates

© Apollo Architects and Associates

© Apollo Architects and Associates

NEUT by Apollo Architects and Associates, Tokyo, Japan

NEUT was built around the client’s joy of listening to music. Designed with multiple sound buffers, the project features stairs that float between glass and concrete spatial dividers. Outside, horizontal wooden slats and louvers delineate balcony space while accentuating interior space.

© Yousuke Harigane (Techni Staff)

© Yousuke Harigane (Techni Staff)

© Yousuke Harigane (Techni Staff)

Fukuchiyo Sake Brewery | Steel Wall Gallery by yHa architects, Kashima, Japan

Located in the City of “Hizen Hamashuku,” the Fukuchiyo Sake Brewery is sited close to the Ariake Sea. Building upon the old port city fabric, the renovation transformed a former rice mill into a tasting and brewing gallery. Stairs were designed that allow circulation between viewing areas and spaces to mingle.

© Ido,Kenji Architectural Studio

© Ido,Kenji Architectural Studio

© Ido,Kenji Architectural Studio

House in Tamatsu by Ido,Kenji Architectural Studio, Ōsaka-shi, Japan

Emerging from Osaka’s urban fabric, this residence rises from a context of factories, office buildings and small houses. Organized around a family room and skylight, the project’s floating stairs are made as open boxes that allow light to filter between multiple levels.

© ATELIER ARSº

© ATELIER ARSº

© ATELIER ARSº

Levering Trade by ATELIER ARSº, Zapopan, Mexico

Levering Trade embraces an industrial aesthetic and tectonic expression through a sawtooth roof and Vierendeel beams. Made with repetition and variation, a steel lattice work and double height ward form the interior space, while an elegant staircase connects the warehouse to private offices and meeting rooms.

© Flying Treehouse s.r.o.

© Flying Treehouse s.r.o.

© Flying Treehouse s.r.o.

bmt by Flying Treehouse s.r.o., Bratislava, Slovakia

Penthouse “bmt” is sited in the building Eurovea along the river Danube. Social areas were organized above living quarters, connected by an impressive wooden staircase that is cantilevered to create the floating aesthetic.

© Fuse-Atelier

© Fuse-Atelier

© Fuse-Atelier

House in Abiko by Fuse-Atelier, Chiba, Japan

Built in Abiko City, this residence was designed as a gallery-like concrete space with signature furniture. Three-dimensional, continuous slanted surfaces create a monocoque form around the floating staircase within.

© Luciano Kruk Arquitectos

© Daniela Mac Adden

© Daniela Mac Adden

L4 House by Luciano Kruk Arquitectos, La Costa Partido, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina

L4 House was designed as a short-term stay residence and rental property. Located in Costa Esmeralda, the house is sited in the Marítimo II barrio parallel to the sea. Conceived as an autonomous sculptural element, the staircase was formed as a striking concrete feature that descends into the living quarters.

The Main Entry Deadline for Architizer's 2025 A+Product Awards is Friday, December 6. Get your brand in front of the AEC industry’s most renowned designers by submitting today.

 
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