Gizmodo
Here's a great idea for anyone who loves books and doesn't have enough apartment space or a Kindle: a "secret staircase" made of English oak, lined with books left, right and center, leading to a loft bedroom in a Victorian 1898 apartments block.
The 70m2 apartment was remodeled by London-based Levitate Architects, who created "a new bedroom level and increasing the floor area of the flat by approximately one third." The staircase is both the way to access the bedroom and a perfect place to store books, movies or CDs. "With a skylight above lighting the staircase, it becomes the perfect place to stop and browse a tome," says Levitate's Tim Sloan, who also pointed out the unique structure of each step, allowing for anyone to comfortably sit down while picking a book. [Apartment Therapy via Boing Boing]
Comments
handrail?
SERIOUS wood.
Stunning design.
How much?
That's pretty ingenious. Even w/ DVD's I'd still have tons of blank shelves.
@ANoel:
How about a new house and a college fund? Most likely.
Ahh, the smell of Half-Price Books in the morning.
I looked at this and immediately got dizzy.
@Samifumi:
I see like... geography books and dictionaries. If this person was well read I'd be spotting some Orwell, Huxley, Kerouac, or Ginsberg. Boy do I love my beat generation (although I know Orwell and Huxley don't fit that criteria).
In-FREAKIN-genious. Nicely crafted, too.
I have very large feet - books on the rise of the steps seem like a bad idea.
The sides however....
Beautiful! remember to start your decent with your right foot first!
@trailingedge: What if I'm rather indecent?
@Metkis: I'm glad we have the ultimate judge of literary taste posting on giz.
Is it me or does that look almost a straight drop? It doesn't look like a stair case.. more like a ladder with no hand rails... its only a matter of time when the owner's going to fall while trying to descend facing forward. Jeez.. try building one of those in the US and you're asking for a damn lawsuit.
I love the natural light at the top, but I know from experience I would eventally block that light out with all the plants I would put up there.
@arch05:
Hey somebody has to... I'm not letting this fop think that 1000 copies of Encyclopedia Britannica is a statement.
@Tech_Tifosi:
Ya, the ULTIMATE litigation in the US - sue yourself for being a retard and letting drunks climb up your library.
That is the best idea I have seen this month...er....week.
My God... it's full of books!
@Metkis: Are you serious? Even from the first picture alone you can tell it's not just encyclopedias.
The steps look odd... I've never seen any that alternate depth like that.
Oh, yeah, one more thing: 70m^2
The "^" symbol indicates a superscript.
I was thinking, "what is a 70m2 apartment? Some kind of British standard?"
@Mondoz: That's to make it easier to lose your footing and fall down...
I love it, but what's with the non-constant alternating longer step application (forgive my lack of grammar when it comes to step architecture). It would be beneficial having more step, but I'd hate to miss it and do a faceplant into a wall of books. is it supposed to mimic file tabs?
im drooling for all those books
and the stairs are priceless!!
i'll do that in my future house
This is just a space saver staircase. That's why it looks so steep, you use every other step. It's quite a nice idea to surround it with books though.
@Metkis:
You don't get it the statement is the bookcase not the books.
@discounteggroll: No, it's so you can get the proper depth of tread to stand on while fitting the staircase in that small space. If all the treads were uniformly deep, the rise/run wouldn't fit in that elevation. You can only do this in a private residence, as it goes against all ADA standards (at least here in the US).
@Tech_Tifosi:
It's just you. It's no where near a straight drop. I grew up in a house with a steeper staircase, no railing and no wall on one side. Going face first down the stairs or even a ladder is safer in my book. If you trip, or stumble you just sit down as your center of gravity is behind you and it's easier to fall backwards.
Right foot, left foot, right foot.. oh crap, let me try that again.
Looks great in photos and it's certainly interesting... but check your stairs and note the amount of dirt and dust that you drag up there over the years, plus kicking the steps on the way up after a drunken night or spilling coffee on the way down... certainly wouldn't put my priceless first edition Bible collection (signed!) on those steps.
@Metkis: In the second pic I can clearly read 'Isaac Asimov - Foundation Trilogy' and the volumes with orange spines are without doubt Penguin Classics. and why is it imperative that someone living in London be big on American Beat writers?
second glancing it, I now see that it is a correct left-right-left-right alternation. just don't try to jump a step and you'll fare well
@MacBandit: @spatuladeity:
I'm just kidding! Ahaha. It's just a slow hump day and I'm trying to keep busy.
@HeyBeav:
Again, I'm just messing around on a weekday.
@HeyBeav:
On a side note. I still can't believe how badly the theatrical industry butchered I, Robot. Not that it was ever said to be a direct interpretation.
I wouldn't want to have books on the front, what if it rains and you hit the books with your shoe? They ain't cheap ya know.
Brilliant, just bloody brilliant!
@zanella:
It is a cool staircase. I'd kill for it.
That's an awesome idea! I'm going to have to remember that when I design my own house in a few years.
Neat-o. I saw a pic the other day of stairs with drawers in them and I thought that was brilliant too. [images.google.com] I can't believe stairs have been around as long as they have and no one thought to put drawers (or bookshelves) in them sooner.
I've got vertigo just looking at that thing.
The blue spines are Pelicans. You don't get much more academic than Pelicans.
Funny though that half the books have titles like
"Ouch! My broken Leg!"
"Falling Down Your Staircase: On The Road To Recovery"
"Vertigo 101: Balance & Betrayal"
"12 Steps to a Better Back After You Fall Down A Staircase"
"The Staircase Killer"
"Cooking for friends and family Who Have Fallen Down Your Staircase"
"When Good People Fall: Life After a Tumble"
"Up The Down Staircase, and Then Down Again, Really Fast"
Just the thing I need to store my printed bound edition of wikipedia...
I'm pretty sure you're going to fall on your ass sooner than later with the uneven treads like that. Love the idea but fix the treads.
I saw the same stairs in another London apartment around 15 years ago. Theirs goes to the next level too. It has slightly deeper cuts so you don't bash your shins as you walk up though.
@CURVES: I think the "plants" you talking about require plenty of sunlight, which is not one of the things UK is known for. It's back to UV lamps, I'm afraid. :o]
put some air conditioning and it would make a great server room
@cynep: Not THOSE plants, no cash crop. ;)
I am sort of a refugee camp/hospital for sick plants. Everyone I know mistreats them, then they send them to me to get them healthy again, and when I try to repatriate them, "fridnds" wont take them back, so every window in my house looks like a portal to a jungle.
haha, i ll have to call 911 everytime i get drunk and try to go upstairs... "help, nigga help.... i am trapped in the library...!"
@Jesse Mrozowski:
Speaking of Vertigo, it looks like a scene from a Hitchcock movie.
My dream is to have a library - instead of my system now whereby my book-shelves are full, and I have to weave my way around piles on the floor.
Guess that dream just got a little closer to reality...
Simply brilliant!
70 square meters? No wonder they need every scrap of space, that's what...210 sq feet?
@Cobolman2: I think its closer to a multiple of 9 since there are 9 square feet in a square yard, and a yard is 3 inches shy of a meter.
@Cobolman2: Actually it's about 630 sf. It is a factor of nine not three. two dimensions not one need to be accounted for when changing from meters to feet.
@delithic: beat me to it.
I realize some people take their shoes off before they roam around their flat, but I don't...and most likely my books would eventually get dirty from the usual grim that is accumulated on the floor. -whiner
Genius, pure genius.
Hardly.
Remember a meter is a little over 3', and so 1 sq meter is like 9 square ft.
70 (square meters) = 753.473729 square feet
But yes... even at 753 sq ft, you need to squeeze every scrap of space out!
@Curves:
Careful Curves, too many plants can hide pervs.
(I am feeling poetic today)
@mtopper: The plants are on the inside, so the only perv they are hiding is me.