Casa C Minimalist Staircase

Staircases can either fade into the background or serve as a dramatic focal point. Some hang or float, creating cool optical illusion effects. Some spiral in sculptural fashion, whether they’re full of ornate detail or simple and minimalist. Some are pure practicality, doing double-duty as storage.

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But it’s rare to find a staircase design that flouts conventions altogether, doing away with familiar forms. In this case, there aren’t even any steps to speak of. Graphic and linear, this design is more like a ladder than a staircase, really. But it serves its function while also resembling a line drawing, and it’s incredibly cool.

In definitively Italian style, this staircase manages to be both minimalist and outrageous at the same time – a sharp linear black work contrasting with a classical white space.

Casa C Minimalist Staircase modern

Designed by Francesco Librizzi Studio (with lovely photography by Giovanna Silva), the metal frame of this minimalist modern staircase is thin and spare almost to a fault – climbing or descending clearly requires careful steps. Better not wear any slippery shoes!

Casa C Minimalist Staircase detail

Still, for the space, such a bare-bones approach to the basic staircase works aesthetically as the stairs become a sculptural object, and practically given the limited room to work with.

“An original 1900 house, where windows, doors and tiled floors survived to modernity,” says the designer. “The only possible intervention was an almost-2D frame, able to double the space in height and create new possibilities on other layers.”

Casa C Minimalist Staircase from bedroom

About the designer: “Born in 1977, Francesco Librizzi graduated in Architecture in Palermo. In 2005 he founded Francesco Librizzi Studio, an architectural practice based in Milano involved in architecture, interiors, exhibition design and product design. During this years the studio has developed architectural devices from small to large scale. Some of this works have been awarded prestigious prizes, have been published on international magazines and have been exhibited by important institutions.”