Custom Bookshelf

This client recently had moved into a historic loft in the Lowertown area of downtown St. Paul.  Their corner space features very tall windows and a remarkable 14' tall brick barrel vaulted ceiling.  Two sides of their living room are exterior building walls with city views.  The third wall of the space contains a fireplace, but the forth wall was empty and expansive. Desiring a place to hold books and display items they had collected over the years, this wall was the obvious location.

In order to take advantage of the height of the wall our design needed a way to reach all the way to the ceiling.  Additionally, to avoid appearance of the shelving dominating the space we wanted to make it visually light and open.  An all steel design solution provided the strength needed to support books and collectables as well as the people that would need to climb the structure to reach upper shelves.  The steel design also allowed us to keep the structural members of the shelving and supports to minimum profiles.
 
Transforming the idea of a traditional library ladder, we put the stair itself on display, making it a decorative element in the overall structural composition.  Powder coated cobalt blue; the stair is broken into two sections that move independently depending on how high one needs to reach.  Stairs, unlike a ladder, allow a user to have both hands free when looking for a particular item, and also allowed us to keep the floor free and unobstructed.

CITYDESKSTUDIO acted as designer, directed the fabrication, and coordinated the construction of this shelving unit.