Over recent years one design has emerged and increasingly grown in popularity among architects, designers and property developers: The cantilever staircase.

With any architectural project the choice of materials on offer are near infinite. The cantilever staircase can incorporate a wide variety of materials to suit. Along with the standard construction, the choice of materials can be broken down by each aspect of a staircase. The treads, riser bars, balustrade, handrail and other detailed fixings can be fabricated from a number of materials to produce a unique design or complement an existing one.

The use of glass balustrades is popular with residential homes as it helps to create the appearance of space by allowing more light to travel around the stair and throughout the property. The choice of stainless steel, timber, stone or concrete is also popular due to the number of different finishes that can be offered to match any existing décor within a property.

Material choices are subject to norms, similarly to the ever changing fashion trends throughout the world. Recently, there has been a sudden rise in demand for brass and leather/animal skin which has been incorporated into handrail systems and intricate balustrade detailing.

A recently cantilever project CANAL has completed was the Palace staircase in London for a penthouse apartment. The secret to this staircase’s success is in the hidden metalwork within the wall. Once installed, formed solid American white oak timber box treads were sleeved over the channels, which matched the chosen timber flooring throughout the property.

Throughout the penthouse apartment, 15mm low iron, toughened glass balustrade panels were installed as the staircase balustrade and around the first and second floor openings. To finish, satin polished, stainless steel handrail was installed as a top rail to the glass balustrade and wall fixed for the opposing handrail running up the staircase.

Visit CANAL and talk to the team at Ecobuild 2015 in March, Stand S4026 or contact the Architectural Team about your bespoke requirements.