Barneys New York

The rustic and developing patina of the reclaimed pine flooring provides a warm glow and softness to the 12,500 pounds of steel and glass that make up this stair. The space (once a Pottery Barn) was gutted and all that was left was the structural concrete and steel structure in a stage of demolition and re-configuring with exposed twisted re-bar and a heavy dust (unlike any other I have experienced) that coated everything. It looked more like a set for a Heavy Metal music video than one for one of the Nation’s premier retailers.

Our stair could not be lifted by standard equipment that one would normally use due to the structural limitations of the floor, so we had to use a concert of over a dozen chain hoists connected to substantial structure in the ceiling 40 feet above. It was like the Cirque du Soleil for steel – everything moving into position – directed and executed with extraordinary talent and unfortunately poor lighting.