The entrance to a tubular slide, constructed from mirror-polished stainless steel, emerges through a circular hole cut in the seamless sloping glass partition at the south end of the Attic.

The cylindrical helical slide flares to an ellipse which is sectioned on the angle of the inclined glass wall  resulting in a circular opening where the slide emerges through the glass.  This circular opening creates an illusion of flatness contradicted by the sideways path of the slide as it begins its descent.  

Visitors are invited to select a yellow cashmere blanket from the pile beside the entrance to speed their trip to the bottom….

The first leg of the slide passes through the attic glass, coils around the column and over the double-height guest bedroom, then slips through a second seamless glass window and out over the stair. 

Windows in the slide admit natural light from the dormer windows and provide a fleeting vistas through the entire length of the penthouse.

To compete with the drama of the slide as it sweeps through the space and out the window to the stair, interior designer Ghislaine Vinas installed a startling mural, inspired by Michael Jackson’s Neverland, in the only vertical wall in the room.  The saturated colors of the mural are fractured in the mirror polished facets of the slide, scatting patterns of color along the inner surface of the slide.  

At the bedroom entrance a landing provides an opportunity to make a local stop at the third level or to re-enter the slide to continue down to the entrance level. 

The lower slide coils down through the ceiling and into the Library on the main level, suspended from a single point within the floor structure above. 

As it reaches the end, the helical slide tube flares out to create a distorted rectangular mirror which forms the wall of the Library and deposits the intrepid visitor back in the Entrance Gallery at the foot of the staircase.

For more on this project see the following links: 

Skyhouse_1. Entry/Stairwell

Skyhouse_3. Living Room

Skyhouse_4. Center Bedroom

Skyhouse_5. North Bedroom

Skyhouse_6. Process

Skyhouse_7. Film