DROP-DOWN
GORGEOUS
Designers are turning stairwells into
installation spaces with spectacular light
sculptures that punctuate the vertical drop
with maximum impact, says Helen Chislett.
T
he stairwell is often one of the most neglected spaces in a
home; there might be art on the walls, but the void itself is left
a yawning chasm. However, interior architects and designers
are increasingly viewing this vast, vertical space as a new canvas
on which to create dynamic lighting sculptures. Technological
advances have allowed them to make full use of multistorey
atriums, installing lights that often spiral down several floors.
Sara Cosgrove, head of interior design at The Studio
at Harrods, is a strong advocate of installing a light with wow factor at the
beginning of the journey through a home (see final page for one design
commissioned from London-based Phillips & Wood). “It is all about setting
the tone of what will be experienced in the rest of the property. You may
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281_StairwellLighting.PRESSNEW.indd 2
Eva Menz’s 7m chandelier
made from hundreds of
pieces of timber, for Candy
& Candy, price on request.
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04/04/2012 17:18
Left: an Eva Menz design
in Swarovski crystal,
£41,400, for Taylor Howes.
Above: the interactive
Flylight by Studio Drift,
about €55,000, at a
Moscow residence.
not spend a lot of time in a hall or on the stairs, but
the chances are you walk through or past them several
times a day. Very often we are asked to create something
dramatic and impactful that people will see as they
enter through the front door – the first indication that
they have arrived at a really special house. Traditional
chandeliers now seem underwhelming in comparison
with what we can create today.”
Mat Carlisle, creative director of Candy & Candy,
agrees: “The bespoke lights we design and commission
counts a number of leading interior architects and
designers among her clients. She began her business
seven years ago, getting her big break when she was asked
to create an 11m lighting installation for the spa at The
G Hotel in Galway, which won a European Design Award.
Inhabiting the space between product design and
sculpture, Menz does not categorise herself as a lighting
designer. “Light is only there to make my pieces come to
life,” she says, “you don’t necessarily see the light source,
just the effect of it, as you would in nature.”
Her work for Candy & Candy includes the
fantastic and fantastical Causing a Storm light
sculpture in the lobby of One Hyde Park,
inspired by the movement of wind through the
leaves in the adjacent park. Made from more
than 6,500 hand-formed glass pieces, half of
which are lustred in 10ct gold, it stretches
over 12m and graces the lobby with a 2m drop.
Menz has also worked with horn, crystal, wood, bone,
feathers, horsehair, porcelain, metal, vintage jewellery,
even ice – the latter for a one-night event in New York
– as well as a variety of collected objects, and prices start
at £50,000. “There is no perfect material, just a perfect
material for a particular context,” she says. “You are not
just filling a physical void, but an emotional one, too. The
very first questions I ask are: What is this space about?
Why would I be here? What should I be prepared for?”
At Studio Drift in Amsterdam, artists Ralph Nauta and
Lonneke Gordijn have recreated a 7m, two-storey version
of their Flylight installation, which was launched at last
year’s Salon del Mobile show in Milan, in a client’s home
in Moscow (pictured above). It is an interactive piece
Each light is often made of thousands
of components and constructed on site
over a period of up to a fortnight.
for staircases are as much pieces of sculpture as they are
light sources. They punctuate the vertical drop, opening
up the interior, and also link all the storeys together. In
effect, the stairwell becomes one big installation.”
He cites the example of a 7m, tiered design by Eva
Menz that cuts through three storeys of an apartment in
London (price on request, pictured on previous page):
“It is made of hundreds of individual pieces of shaped
timber, and is really 90 per cent sculpture, 10 per cent
light source. It becomes part of the surrounding staircase
due to the tonally matching leather panels and brass
handrail that wrap around and frame it. A big, bright
chandelier would not have been suitable at all, but these
materials are very rich, warm and comfortable.” Menz
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281_StairwellLighting.PRESS.indd 3
based on the swirling shapes of flocks of birds. When
someone walks within the field of its built-in sensors,
the light moves differently through the installation,
mimicking those formations. “In fact,” says Gordijn,
“those patterns are caused by the fact that no bird
wants to be at the front of the group or to the side, so
they are constantly challenging each other for best
position. We programmed the DNA of that idea, and
replicated it through technology.”
For those who would like their own site-specific
Flylight, the cost is from about €55,000, depending
on size, height, location and so forth. As Gordijn
emphasises, there is a lot more going on here than meets
the eye: “Flylight brings a lot of energy to a space because
it is constantly changing and moving. It is a piece of art
that also uses a lot of technology. Everything is produced
by hand in our studio in Holland or bespoke to our
specifications, because we wanted to keep everything as
minimal and simple as possible. Normal electronics are
not made to be beautiful, but in this case they had to be.”
The technological challenges of such huge pieces
are part of what makes them so special. Joe Zito and
Robbie Spina of Spina Design have become renowned
for their dramatic cascades of crystal over the past
seven years. However, Zito says that few clients realise
how much engineering is involved: “They imagine a
theatrical 6m drop, but they don’t want to see how you
achieve that. Bearing in mind that some of our pieces
weigh close to a ton, it is obviously essential to think
through every element of construction and safety.
And although a chandelier may be big, we don’t want
to end up with something so glaring that it is like
living with the Blackpool Illuminations.”
Although best known for crystal, Spina also produces
spectacular creations in materials such as silver chain,
glass, porcelain, mirror and semiprecious stones –
notably jet and tiger’s eye – for anything between
£10,000 and £250,000. Each light is made in sections,
often with thousands of individual components,
and then constructed on site over a period of up to a
fortnight. Whenever possible, they persuade clients to
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04/04/2012 10:39
“The staircase and the lighting around
it are crucial to the impact of a house,
particularly in a duplex or triplex.”
allow the light to fall right to the floor for maximum
effect. Zito says their creations can produce some
remarkable reactions: “We have people crying and
saying it really is their dream come true. To have
something created specially for your home can be a
very emotional experience, and one that the client
often loves to collaborate in. The stairway is the heart
of the home, so where better to have one beautiful,
grand, amazing sculptural piece?”
The choice of where to go to commission a
bespoke light of this sort has never been greater.
The recognised godfather of light sculptures is Ingo
Maurer, who was honoured with a solo exhibition at
New York’s Cooper-Hewitt museum a few years ago,
and whose designs have inspired a new generation
of artists to create work that is also rooted in
functionality. For example, Danny Lane, an artist
renowned for his work in glass, has created some
mouthwatering lighting to commission (example
pictured above, price on request), including pieces
for Candy & Candy. Michael Anastassiades is
another master of reinterpreting the traditional
chandelier for contemporary tastes, including
designs for Swarovski Crystal Palace.
Irish designer Niamh Barry has been producing
bespoke lighting for 12 years but has now created a
few select pieces to her own aesthetic. Among these
is Looped, constructed from handcrafted circles of
LED-encrusted aluminium in a variety of sizes (from
about €8,000). “I’m very influenced by jewellery,
particularly the facets of gemstones,” says Barry.
“What is so satisfying about Looped is that it can be
adapted so well to very particular spaces.”
Proof of this is a seven-loop version that takes
centre stage at the Finchatton development in
Manresa Road, Chelsea (pictured right), where the
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281_StairwellLighting.PRESS.indd 4
triplex apartment is currently on sale for £25m
through Aylesford International. Alex Michelin,
director of Finchatton, says a light such as Looped
adds strength to a scheme: “The staircase and the
lighting around it are crucial to the impact of a
house, particularly in a duplex or triplex. A staircase
needs to be big and beautiful – you need that sense
of volume. Our clients are often powerful and
impressive people, and a statement such as this
reinforces that sense of importance.”
Karen Howes, founding partner of interior
design firm Taylor Howes, echoes this sentiment,
encouraging clients to budget in the region of
£30,000 to £50,000 for a truly spectacular stairwell
light sculpture on the grounds that it makes a serious
statement. Taylor Howes has also worked with Eva
Menz, commissioning a dramatic swirl of Swarovski
crystal for a home in South Kensington (£41,400,
pictured on previous page). “One big extravagant
centrepiece communicates that you can afford to be
generous with space,” says Howes. “It makes a house
immediately feel grander. It is almost a secondary
consideration that these designs are lights.” !
HOW TO SUSPEND IT
Candy & Candy, Rutland House, Rutland Gardens, London
SW7 (020-7590 1900; www.candyandcandy.com). Danny Lane,
19 Hythe Road, London NW10 (020-8968 3399; www.dannylane.
co.uk) and see Candy & Candy. Eva Menz, 10 Clarendon Cross,
London W11 (020-7243 8292; www.evamenz.com) and see
Candy & Candy and Taylor Howes. Finchatton, 22 Ives Street,
London SW3 (020-7591 2700; www.finchatton.com). Ingo
Maurer, 020-8378 0307; www.ingo-maurer.com. Michael
Anastassiades, 020-7928 7527; www.michaelanastassiades.
com and see Swarovski Crystal Palace. Niamh Barry, +35318488 894; www.niamhbarry.com and see Finchatton. Phillips
& Wood, 4 Wilson Walk, Off Prebend Gardens, London W4 (0208222 8117; www.phillipsandwood.co.uk) and see The Studio
at Harrods. Spina Design, 020-7328 5274; www.spinadesign.
co.uk). The Studio at Harrods, 87-135 Brompton Road, London
SW1 (020-7225 5926; www.thestudioatharrods.com). Studio
Drift, +3120-840 6993, www.designdrift.nl. Swarovski
Crystal Palace, 0845-607 0341; www.swarovskicrystalpalace.
com. Taylor Howes, 29 Fernshaw Road, London SW10
(020-7349 9017; www.taylorhowes.co.uk).
RALPH NAUTA. TOM SULLAM ( 2).
Left: Danny Lane etched-glass
chandelier, price on request.
Above: chandelier by Phillips
& Wood commissioned by The
Studio at Harrods, price on
request. Below: Niamh Barry’s
Looped installation, from
about €8,000, for Finchatton.
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04/04/2012 10:40