LIGHTING STAIRS, BALUSTRADES & ELECTRICALS & BALCONIES
Climbing the design stairs: Wyvern House’s striking ascent The brief for Wyvern House was for a one-off, contemporary design located on the disused tennis courts within the grounds of the client’s existing Grade II-Listed home. As keen watchers of Grand Designs, the clients wanted to create a striking design with detailed craftsmanship.
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et on an unusual plot size in the vicinity of protected trees, the site constraints meant the design had to be non traditional in form and construction. The realised building is made of two wings connected by a central stair core using a concrete framework clad externally with a simple palette of charred timber, zinc and split slate. This simplicity in materials is carried through into the interior spaces with the same high attention to detail, using a warm but neutral palette. The staircase is a key feature of the overall design, located in the central core and rising over three floors. It appears circular in shape but is, in fact, helical. This slightly unusual shape provides more space for the design to function and meets Building I-B U I L D/ O C T O B E R/23
Regulation requirements, which stipulate the amount of turning space needed and the height and depth of each stair, which must be identical. To present a sculptural feel, the staircase is cast in concrete that wraps around the inside of a curved concrete wall. The original interior design concepts featured limestone flooring throughout the ground floor, chosen to complement the planned limestone cladding to the exterior of the house with a polished stair. However, as the construction progressed, the limestone cladding was replaced with charred timber cladding, meaning that the planned limestone flooring would feel out of place in the building, so Clear Architects chose a polished concrete floor instead to maintain the restrained palette of materials. In this context,
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a polished concrete stair would risk the interiors feeling too clinical, so a different type of finish was sought. A big factor influencing the form of the house is the 500-year-old oak tree located in the garden, formerly a part of Epping Forest. Using this as inspiration, designs were created to install a solid oak runner with prominent vertical posts acting as the balustrades. Creating a striking internal representation of the majestic tree’s form as well as complementing the vertical timber cladding on the exterior. Areas of the original planned, polished concrete remain visible to either side of the oak runners that have been laid on each tread. These areas are polished and sealed to give a low-sheen finish. The exposed concrete detailing is