Modern fireplace with a concrete mantel and exposed brick wall, featuring a small wooden stairway and a wooden box with Chinese characters on it. Flames are visible inside the fireplace.

HOT-STEP

A fireplace carved of polished concrete to anchor a lightweight oak timber staircase seemingly floating above

FOR A PRIVATE CLIENT

Modern indoor fireplace with a concrete base, a fire burning inside, and a wooden staircase with vertical balusters against a white brick wall.

Hot-Step is a fireplace of carved mass of polished concrete that anchors a lightweight oak timber staircase seemingly floating above. It appears to emerge from the floor, creating a special moment beneath the stairs.

 The architecture connects the home’s main lower ground living space with its upper floors, drawing light from above and heating the home from the fire below.

An exploded view diagram of a multi-story staircase with a fireplace at the base, showing the stair structure, floors, and top roof, with sunlight entering from above.

CARVED & HEAVY VERSUS LIGHT & AIRY

The concrete fire and staircase appear as they are carved out of the heavy concrete mass. The openness of the light wooden stairs sitting above ensures daylight from the top penetrates all the way down to the basement.

A black and white illustration of a cloud raining over a fireplace with a flame, portraying a weather scene with raining clouds and a fireplace underneath.

BETWEEN THE GROUND & THE SKY

The staircase offers an experience starting from the heavy, grounded steps and fireplace at the bottom becoming lighter the further towards the sky one moves.

LOCATION

London

RESEARCH THEMES

Materiality, void

STATUS

Completed in 2016

CLIENT

Private