Glass Stair + Skylight

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The ‘Glass Stair + Skylight’ is for a private apartment and provides the vertical axis which the apartment revolves around. It is a unifying element within the design, guiding daylight into the central spaces.

The large, openable Skylight and apparent weightlessness of the Glass Stair provides a simple and elegant complement to the apartment spaces. The elements modulate the light to reduce the harsh glare and the intense Hong Kong heat. The stair is built around structural glass screens, with a vertical reflective pattern printed within the glass that evokes the natural forms of falling rain. It is composed entirely of heat-strengthened laminated glass. Metal fittings are reduced to an absolute minimum to avoid the silhouetting of opaque elements, allowing the maximum interaction of light and glass. Fittings are bonded into the glass in the fabrication process.

The skylight opening gives access to the roof terrace and an unobstructed view of the sky from below. Its frame is invisible from inside when closed and it appears to double in width, reflected at an acute angle in the vertical glass screen below.

The ‘Glass Stair + Skylight’ was awarded a special mention in the Architizer A+ Awards 2016, Architecture + Glass category and was featured as one of Dezeen’s Top 10 Staircases in 2016.

Image (above): Edmon Leong

Image (above): Kitmin Lee