Staircases the world over carry the potential for much more than mere access to an upper or lower level, and China is no exception. The tradition may be limited, and perhaps overly influenced by Western style, particularly in Shanghai, but with an increasing openness to domestic living, as we just saw under Open-plan Living, the staircase, when left— or built as—exposed, has an aesthetic and even sculptural role to play in the modern house. The major issue and real limiting factor in a domestic space is the lack of volume with which the designer or architect can play, but in the modern way with staircases much can be done to give them real presence, as the striking red and black construction at top right confirms—an entirely original and organic solution to opening up a traditionally narrow terraced lane house. As a key design element in a house, the best staircases reflect their owner’s taste and current fashion, beginning, strikingly, with the 1930s spiral design at left, in a Shanghai mansion. Concrete, steel and glass, wood, marble—all these materials are being put to use. The owner of one restored Art Deco house over- leaf even takes the opportunity to make a stairwell into art, as a giant reproduction of the painter Henri Rousseau unfolds over three stories.
The elegant 1930s spiral staircase in the Pei family home in central Shanghai, seen from the entrance lobby.
An open-sided white concrete staircase in the functional, spacious house of Beijing artist Yue Min Jun, well-known for his smiling man paintings.
Glass, wood and steel create a visually light geometry for the central staircase in the house of Shanghai-based designer Kenneth Jenkins.
Seen here in a wall mirror behind a contemporary bench, sculptured lotus flowers rise in tandem with the steps of this broad Hong Kong staircase.
In the conversion of a Shanghai lane house for owner Fred Kranich, the original four stories have become eight staggered levels. The staircase was created on-site, weaving eccentrically around the different levels and rooms of the house.
The open staircase in the home of Beijing artist Sui Jian Guo, designed by neighbor and fellow artist Shao Fan, doubles as a display area for one of his well-known sculptures, ‘The Discus Thrower’.
The owner of this small three-story French Concession house, who was responsible for its restoration, reproduced a tall Henri Rousseau painting, ‘Une Soirée au Carnaval’, on the three successive landings.
In a Shatin two-floor apartment in Hong Kong, designer Anderson lee built substantial storage space into one side of the stained wooden staircase.
In the entrance area of a large contemporary residence on the outskirts of Beijing, the open-sided staircase becomes an architectural element, rising above a central pond and behind the unpainted brick wall.
The narrow and formerly dark stairwell in a small French Concession house has been opened up and lightened by painting all the woodwork in white, and setting it against the raw surface of gray handmade Chinese bricks.
Painted completely in white, a spiral staircase rises through this study area, making a striking contrast with the strong red walls and ceiling.