17 February 2023

THE ASCENT OF STYLE: AN OVERVIEW ON MARBLE STAIRWAYS

The designer and architect have a singular aim: to create the best possible living spaces for their clients. For residential projects, the different necessities of luxurious living are to be carefully organized in a naturally intuitive flow that compliments the needs and lifestyle of their occupants. Stairs between floors are nothing short of essential to maximizing the space, amenities, and comfort of spaces, and the look and feel of stairways play a central role in determining the feel and style of the property as a whole. In deciding on the style and material of each project’s stairway options, the discerning architect must holistically consider the design and practicality underscoring the aura of the space. In considering both the versatility of stair designs as well as the practical stylishness of marble as a stair material, stairways become not just a transportation feature, but a dynamic conversation between the occupants and their space.

The Craftsmanship of Stair Design

The introduction of additional floors has been the primary architectural method of multiplying building space for centuries, and stairs have just as long been the quintessential means of traveling between different levels. Stairs are often the sturdiest building structures for architects, and archaeologists equate multi-story housing as millennia-old symbols of wealth and influence.

As any seasoned designer (as well as any architect) knows, spaciousness is of the utmost importance to any stair design. Because traditional stairs move both upwards and forwards, the floor space necessary for their implementation makes stairways function as a liminal conversation between two different rooms, two different floors, and two different emotions. As Lindsey Mather in Architectural Digest points out, the different varieties of stairs help to play a major role in determining an entire house’s character. Spiral stairways maximize spatial efficiency while lending a range of evocative feelings from the ornate and luxurious to the modern and spunky, and L-shaped stairways are an indispensable tool of the mindful architect in helping to direct movement and organize spatial auras. After consideration of all of these different structural options, the importance of material is essential for proper stair design. 

Marble as Stair Material

Marble is a timeless material that has been the interior architect’s material of choice for centuries. Marble has been used as a luxury material for over 2500 years, with evidence of luxurious marble edifices present across temples and ruins in modern-day Greece, Italy, Turkey, and Syria. The Romans made particularly noteworthy use of marble in stair design: Trajan’s Column uses a spiral staircase of 185 marble steps, and the marble Scala Sancta is regarded as one of Italy’s greatest relics for its historical and traditional religious significance. Ornate marble stairways are an essential feature of the Taj Mahal, and the ivory material was specifically requested by Shah Jahan as an unparalleled material to immortalize the memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal.

In contemporary architectural design, marble stairs have been rejuvenated as a symbol of modern luxury. The marble stairs of the Palais Garnier opera house in Paris make for one of the highlights of the city’s modernization in the 19th-century by Napoleon III, and the Palais Garnier was in fact an architectural inspiration for the angled marble stairs in Grand Central Terminal—one of the most iconic symbols of New York City. With marble’s reputation preceding it across so many different periods of history, the importance and appeal of the material is able to rise to the occasion of any modern, extravagant project. These influences can be exerted in a variety of ways for different stair types, and their timeless appeal is poised to fine-tune any design challenge. 

Davani’s Inspiration for Marble Stairs

DAVANI’s architectural inspiration for marble stairways originates from a desire to highlight marble’s iconic look in the most intuitive, opulent manner befitting each project. Marble is a material that couples its organic opulence with an inherent versatility in use, and this inspiration is paired with the different types of premium marble—in both veining style and coloration—utilized in DAVANI’s custom marble stair projects. DAVANI’s wide variety of marble options are intended to invite the designer to consider both the color and the texture of marble, as a means of orienting the flow between different areas of the overall architecture. The connectivity of stairs’ function couples naturally with the eye-catching nature of its form. With these different options in mind, DAVANI is uniquely poised to elevate any architectural project’s style to the next level.