A grille of walnut slats, designed by Syme and made by the local millworkers MCM, delineates the edge of a new stair with open treads made of hot-rolled steel. Tall Bulthaup cabinets mark the edge of the dining area; Evans, a mechanical engineer, had them custom-made to conceal heating ducts that vent almost invisibly through the top edge.

Spiral to residence and rooftop terrace, with Max.

The trip from garage to first floor is through a wood-clad spiral staircase that resembles a giant slatted barrel.

A detail shot of the stair, which spirals up and down throughout the house.

In his studio, Priatman blew up an aerial photograph of Surabaya, where he is based, to map his current architectural projects.

The sculptural staircase is a centerpiece of the open-plan kitchen and living room.

A sculptural white steel spiral staircase with wooden treads connects the two levels.

Yeo descends the spiral staircase that connects the public and private spaces while Ian relaxes on a pair of Cappellini Superlight 750 sofas designed by Barber Osgerby. The Gwapa lounge chair and ottoman in the corner were designed by Marcel Wanders.

A steel spiral staircase efficiently links all three floors. With no interior doors, Yurika can keep an ear on the shop from upstairs while maintaining the privacy of her home with the help of the vertical distance.

“The intimate courtyard, with a concrete floor and plants, is an homage to many charming places in Southern California, where my wife and I lived for four years before getting married," says Priatman.

For the kitchen, architect Ivan Priatman selected an oven, hood, and cooktop from Teka and a Samsung refrigerator. While the table is his own design, the bar stools and chairs are from Informa.

The once-sloping space now has climbing vines, a slatted fence, and foxtail agaves.

The firm also designed a slatted screen next to the staircase.

“Try to group uses and find solutions that solve multiple problems,” Borowski counsels. As an example, Pozner cites the idea of having the loft stairs double as clothing drawers. Though he eschewed a handrail, preferring a cleaner look, Pozner says that the slipperiness of the stairs “remains a work in progress. We had grooves, but they hurt my feet.” The pair are now looking into heavy-duty felt treads.

The boys have set up an almost plein air painting station on the stair landing in the new addition.

The decidedly industrial exterior features smooth dark gray stucco, a custom steel mesh wall, and a metal spiral staircase leading from the ground floor to the roof deck. The clients love the industrial look because it feels raw and natural to them. The footprint of the new addition lies at the rear of the existing home, and the dark exterior helps seamlessly integrate the new structure into the natural slope of the land. According to architect John Klopf, the new addition acts as a spatial backdrop for the existing structure, “receding visually out of respect for the original home.”

The house is intended to be experienced as a continuous sequence from the public living areas to the private office and bedrooms. Instead of organizing the plan linearly, Priatman thought of it as a spiral that wraps around a central green space.

The caged staircase was designed by architect Patrick Ousey, with whom Flournoy collaborated in the home’s design. Although initially unconvinced by the staircase detail, “it is a great example of how collaboration brings in different perspectives,” says Flournoy.

O’Sullivan designed the ceiling “to have a knitted or woven quality like that of wool or silk.” It dives down over the kitchen and dining area, eventually reaching a point at the entry that is low enough to touch. Here, resident Jes Wood leans against the onyx kitchen island while her daughter Ruby hangs out. Replica Jean Prouvé chairs surround the dining table; a vase by Bruce and Estelle Martin for Kamaka Pottery sits on top. The Reel table under the television is by Atelier Oï for B&B Italia.

A wall of three-inch-wide cedar slats contrasts with the tile backsplash.

A vintage stool, a design that once was a staple of Greek classrooms, is tucked under the office desk on a landing leading to a balcony. The visual theme of the vertical wooden slats repeats itself here, including on a closet door. “They have no handles,” Ritenour says of the closet doors. “The lines are the door handles; you have to know to grab them.”

In Bracebridge, Ontario, this cedar cabin with slatted wood screens treads lightly on the land. Read more about the project here.

The cedar screen that extends out from the dining and living rooms traces the line of the actual setback and reads not as a wall of the house but as a delineator of exterior space. The same material is used on the railing on the roof deck and offers a bit of privacy without, according to Braver, “looking like a stockade.”

Going Underground The site the Wadhams found for their home was designated as “green belt” land, which meant that there were restrictions on the size of the structure’s footprint. Because it’s critical for the pair to live on a single floor, especially as they grow older, Archer tucked the home’s three guest rooms—vital for four visiting children and eight grandchildren—all belowground. Not only does that keep the home’s layout trim, but with the living spaces and master bedroom at ground level, the couple will be able to stay in the house for longer, getting more use out of the energy and resources expended to build it.

A view of the kitchen, with a glimpse of the spiral staircase in the background.

Sited on a lake near Bracebridge, Ontario, this small-footprint family cottage was designed by Toronto firm superkül to integrate with its natural surroundings and minimize its environmental impact. The clients, a married couple, had mixed feelings about going completely modern with their cabin's aesthetic, so the architects created a sculptural wood form to bridge the gap between traditional and contemporary. Photo by Shai Gil.

The staircases are built with no central support, giving more focus to their curved form.

Referencing the motif in the kitchen, wood slats also appear on the rear facade of the home; the variegated cedar planks both modulate light and provide a bit of privacy (above).The garden floor, which accommodates an additional living area and office, also offers access to the backyard.

Emilie Bédard and Maria Rosa Di Ioia of EM Architecture gave Erik Rydingsvärd’s top-floor apartment in a Montreal triplex a subdued, modern look that evokes his native Denmark. The range hood and satin-finished teak cabinets are by Kastella. The floors are Douglas fir and the walls are spruce, painted white.

A wider look at the open-plan dining room and kitchen.

"Circle-round | Road"

"Spiral" by Collin Robinson. Photo by Blake Larson, Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia.

Stained oak flooring was used throughout the home’s ground level, and continues up the main stairwell. Painted steel was used for the guardrails.

An outdoor shower in the lower courtyard includes most of the materials that define the project, including Cor-Ten steel posts, horizontal ipe slats and decking, a custom seat and towel shelf set into a natural boulder, and concrete pavers. The yard includes many elements built for play, like a water feature embedded in a concrete wall that is fed by runoff rainwater collected from the breezeway roof.

With its vertical wood slats, the garden fence helps unify the main house and the smaller shed.

The master bedroom is shaded by exterior slats in cumaru, a sustainable tropical wood. Alazraki designed the custom bed frame.