Sculptural Staircase Railing Looks Like a Cascade of White Bubbles
Break out beyond the standard wooden poles into less conventional materials and forms, and a staircase railing can do double-duty as a decorative focal point. Designer Marc Fornes mimics cellular patterns in glossy white Corian with this machine-fabricated addition to a Paris apartment.
Creeping down a set of wooden steps that gradually get smaller as they head toward the lower level, the bubble-like framework of the railing similarly morphs in shape. Both the stairs and the railing start out feeling solid and heavy; the steps get lighter and the openings within the abstract pattern grow larger.
This lends a sense of airiness to the bottom portion of the staircase, down to the last few floating platforms. This sculptural form visually expands the space, balancing out the enclosing effect of low ceilings and small windows.
Marc Fornes of New York design studio THEVERYMANY creates mathematically-based sculptural installations as temporary pavilions and wholly unexpected pop-up shop interiors, including a collaboration with Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. Designed using computer software, his ornate, artistic structures are digitally fabricated using CNC machines.
About Marc Fornes
“MARC FORNES, registered and practicing Architect DPLG, leads THEVERYMANY, a New York-based studio specializing in large-scale, site-specific structures that unify skin, support, form, and experience into a single system. Over the last ten years, Marc has designed and built a number of organic, thin-shell constructions that push the limits of form, structure, and space. This body of work is situated between the fields of art and architecture, with particular focus in the realm of public art. Each public artwork aims to provide a unique spatial experience for its visitors, while also contributing to the visual identity of a place and catalyzing community engagement.”
“This practice is propelled by Marc’s expertise in computational design. THEVERYMANY represents a body of research that continues to advance new parametric outcomes and implement complex techniques in architecture and beyond. Each project evolves previous inquiries, and further investigates design though codes and computational protocols, addressing new ways to describe complex curvilinear self-supported surfaces into series of flat elements for efficient fabrication.”
