Clear Staircases — They're a Real Glass Act
If you're flush with funds, you can have a ball with crystal on your stairs. The rest of us can just marvel from afar
All-glass stairs, made popular by architect Peter Brohlin's for the iconic Fifth Avenue Apple Store in New York, have started to show up in many a residence. These stairways are luxury items, often running well north of $100,000. But for those who want a clean, modern interior with the latest materials, assemblies and technologies, a glass stair can't be beat.
Made of sheets of glass with an inner layer for strength and safety, not unlike car windshields, these translucent beauties can be nearly all glass (treads, risers, stringers and rail) or can include contrasting materials — say, antique wood treads with a glass stringer and support. And the glass used, while mostly clear and textured for the steps, can come in a variety of colors and patterns.
Made of sheets of glass with an inner layer for strength and safety, not unlike car windshields, these translucent beauties can be nearly all glass (treads, risers, stringers and rail) or can include contrasting materials — say, antique wood treads with a glass stringer and support. And the glass used, while mostly clear and textured for the steps, can come in a variety of colors and patterns.
As seen from above, the stair's transparency lets all of the architecture and design come through. Of course, just as the stair's transparency reveals everything from above, it will, of course, reveal everything from below.
Note that glass treads require a surface treatment to create friction and prevent slipping. These treatments feature a type of wearing surface that can enhance the overall design, such as the three lines near the nosing of each tread in this photo.
Note that glass treads require a surface treatment to create friction and prevent slipping. These treatments feature a type of wearing surface that can enhance the overall design, such as the three lines near the nosing of each tread in this photo.
With natural light available from only two sides, glass stairs are a perfect way to illuminate the interiors of older row houses in historic neighborhoods. These stairs are ideal because they'll let the maximum amount of natural light filter deep into the interior from a rooftop skylight.
If space allows, a glass stair can become a stunning room-size light fixture. The stair won't block the light from above and, with glass walls surrounding it, transforms what could be a dark and gloomy interior.
Of course, these stairs are also ideal when there's an adjacent view and source of natural light. Even when the stair isn't all glass, light streams deep into the interior. Even a steel stringer, whether bent to form a ziggurat shape like this one, or as a more traditional diagonal, allows for transparency and that sculptural quality these stairs are known for.
The glass doesn't have to be clear. In fact, the treads will be treated to provide a nonslip walking surface. By manipulating the color or surface treatment, the stairs can be quite lively and fun.
Even if you'd like clear glass for your stair, know that clear glass typically has a green tint — the result of the iron oxide in the glass. We don't normally see this green tint, because typical sheets of glass (say, for windows) are thin. It's only when the glass sheets get thicker, as for a stair tread, that the tint becomes obvious.
Sometimes this is desirable, such as when the tint provides a cool color to a space, or ...
Sometimes this is desirable, such as when the tint provides a cool color to a space, or ...
... when it complements other colors of the room.
To avoid the tint, specify a low-iron glass. With reduced iron in the manufacturing process, the glass can be whiter and clearer. As with all things atypical, low-iron glass costs more.
To avoid the tint, specify a low-iron glass. With reduced iron in the manufacturing process, the glass can be whiter and clearer. As with all things atypical, low-iron glass costs more.
Because of our ability to bend and shape glass, the material is ideal for a spiral stair. Each element, from tread to stringer to rail, can be formed in just the right shape and held together with stainless steel connectors.
And because glass is an incredibly strong material, it can be made into a structural post. Cylindrical shapes with a tight radii are formed offsite, and the glass post is then assembled onsite to make for an elegant piece of structure.
Because of its transparency, the staircase seems to float, blocking neither light nor view. And in many ways it becomes, with its lightness and transparency, an ethereal, contemporary sculpture.