The Stairwell: The stairwell shaft, positioned over the main entrance, ascends through the full height of the penthouse, visually linking the entry hall with the structural glass floor of the attic four stories above.
The facetted surfaces of the stairwell converge on apertures, trimmed in mirror polished stainless steel, which provide views into and through the stairwell from the surrounding spaces.
At the third level a structural glass bridge spans across the stairwell shaft.
The original riveted steel structure –clad in intumescent paint- threads through the faceted stairwell, slipping through apertures into adjacent rooms.
At the entrance to the penthouse, the private elevator opens into a tall vestibule, tapering upward to converge on a seamless rectangular oculus which frames the view of the sculpted summit of the adjacent skyscraper.
From the elevator vestibule, the floor slopes gently upward, passing under the twisting shaft of the stairwell to arrive at the main level of the penthouse.
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The Slide: At the suggestion of the owners, we inserted a mirror polished stainless steel slide that coils down through all four levels of the penthouse.
The slide is entered through a circular hole cut in the seamless sloping glass partition at the south end of the Attic.
Visitors are invited to select a yellow cashmere blanket from the pile beside the entrance to speed their trip to the bottom….
The slide coils around a column and over the double-height guest bedroom. Interior designer Ghislaine Vinas installed a startling mural, inspired by Michael Jackson’s Neverland, in the only vertical wall in the room, scattering shards of saturated color along the mirror-polished surface. The slide 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.
A landing provides an opportunity to make a local stop at the third level or to re-enter the slide to continue the rest of the way down.
The lower leg 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 tube flares out to create a distorted rectangular mirror which forms the wall of the Library and deposits the visitor back at the foot of the staircase.
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