The Stairs of Juilliard

Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the architects behind the re-opening of the High Line, also just opened up the doors on it’s newly completed buildings for Juilliard, the performing arts school in New York. Photographer Iwan Baan took some incredible photos of the new spaces but what really caught my eye were the stairs throughout. In the first two photos seem to be a kind of main stairway which remind me of the stairs in the Prada store in Beverly Hills which act as displays as well, though in the case of Juilliard it’s become a common area for people to sit and socialize.

In the third photo is a set of stairs which looks something like ribs floating in the air. It’s a neat effect and I’ve never seen stairs constructed quite like this. The punch of red on the inside make them absolutely awesome. In the last photo it’s not so much about the stairs but how the end of the stairs sort of transform into benches both at the top and bottom levels. It’s a clever detail that will probably go unrecognized.

It’s interesting to me that they put such effort into the stairs, but it makes a lot of sense as well. Stairs often get neglected, being relegated to back alleys or enclosed in stairwells, but I’ve been seeing more and more of a push to make stairs more visible. They can always be used visually as something as exciting plus it encourages people (Read: Americans) to not be lazy and take elevators all the time.

Found through ArchDaily

Bobby