Transforming in perspective – Boston

Oblique Figures apartment, located in Boston, United States, inherits an empty cubic space and inserts a stair as a fulcrum, pivoting new spatial and perceptual relationships around a central curving figure. Connecting three orientations of space, the stair differentiates and domesticates its context by transforming in perspective, appearing as a domestically scaled slim figure of single radius from the kitchen, scaled grand stair from the entrance and a exaggerated receding figure from the dining.
Designed by J.Roc Design, the existing space is transparent only on one side, problematising access to both light and privacy, and establishing a contrast between bright public spaces and windowless private spaces.
By reorienting the cube around a central rotation, notions of front and rear are made ambiguous, allowing for a constantly curving gaze to supersede the strait lines of its context while bridging between double-height living spaces, single height sleeping quarters and a roof garden.
To address lighting needs while providing privacy, the master suite is pivoted off the stair at an angle and enclosed in electrochromic glass, transforming from clear to opaque at will. This angle produces a gradient of scaled spaces, allowing each direct access to light while respecting allowable interior square footage. A keystone in both concept and sequence, the stair was fabricated offsite in two pieces and amazingly corkscrewed in through a skylight.