Selldorf Architects

The client intended to purchase a large room below his Upper East Side apartment, but only if there was an elegant way to connect the two. The generous height of the new space meant that a new staircase might have been ungainly. The firm found a way to segment the staircase: a niche off the main room became an intimate library with a mezzanine;

that mezzanine became a landing for the stairway. Other features, such as internal doors, were designed without flourishes, allowing the library, the stairway, and the vaulted ceiling–now exposed for the first time–to define the space. (Photos: Peter Aaron)