We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer Despina Souhlas about their original and creative Stair design work. Despina Souhlas is an award-winning architectural designer, that makes our world a better place with their original stair works.
Despina Souhlas ("DS") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work Scala Stair. Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
DS : The idea stemmed from the need to design a stair with a dual function, one was to provide a means of reaching the upper level, the second was to de-emphasize the low ceiling on the upper floor.
DS : Our focus was to provide a simple open stair that maintained it's design integrity even as it changed in shape for the added purpose of becoming a gateway for the upper level.
DS : In additional to this design, our hope is to use all our past experiences and met goals to inspire future designs/solutions needed for new projects.
DS : We studied the existing conditions and determined the concept quickly. There were many generations of sketches to develop the overall design of the stair which lasted a few weeks, on and off.
DS : We were asked to redesigned a space for an established client. When we first visited the existing space the ceiling height on the upper level was oppressively low in relation to the overall scale of the large room. We modified the ceiling within the height constraints on the upper level but also wanted to provide a transition into the space that offered it more prominence. This is why we developed this design/concept.
DS : Frank Lloyd Wright and his application of the progression from a small entry space to emphasize the prominence of the living space was an immediate thought when considering the direction for this design. Wrights use of rhythms of vertical and horizontal planes also helped to influence the final design.
DS : The second half of the stair envelopes the user and emphasized the transition into a larger more prominent space, this is why we call it the Gateway.
DS : The most unique aspect of this design is the subtle change to the lower run tread design that transforms it into a tunnel for the upper run so the user experiences the same design in two ways, first stepping on it then stepping through it.
DS : I collaborated with Architect and partner Nebojsa Stanic.
DS : The most difficult challenge was maintaining a simple open stair while still providing an enclosure at the upper level.
