Wood In Architecture Issue 2, 2018

BIG PICTURE
SPROUTING
UP LIKE A
STALK
In Mayfair, London, laminated oak
gives the impression of growing out
of the ground to take centre stage.
Dramatic and unfurling, the main staircase at the HIDE restaurant
in 85 Piccadilly, London, is reminiscent of a tamed tree curling
upwards. Built around a plywood core and structural steel with
laminated veneer lumber and timber treads, the scalloped steps
on the coiling structure seems to emerge like leaves from a stalk
to form the shape. Steel plates embedded into the wood offer the
stairs additional support.
Each intricately designed step slowly and gradually transforms
from one shape to another, from a slightly concave step that
gradually morphs into a protruding curve, welcoming visitors and
encouraging them onward.
Organic and capable of making a statement, the main handrail,
made out of solid timber and multiple fibres, rises gracefully from
the floor in a series of vertical S-curved structures that end at the
lift wall at the top of the stairs.
18 ISSUE 2 • 2018 • WOOD IN ARCHITECTURE