Hidden in Plain Sight

The new space for the Silicon Valley innovation center of a confidential client that focuses on web services has a central stair leading to a second floor slated for future use. No point in removing a stair that will be needed in the near future, but what to do with it in the meantime?

As an analogy, the collaborative work style and intensity of this client’s high-energy staff can be compared to a beehive. Intelligent mathematicians, honeybees create perfect hexagonal structures and work diligently with precision as if alums of the best schools of engineering. Since this client attracts some of the best talent in Silicon Valley to work on highly complex projects, IA adopted a beehive-inspired design theme that extends to elegantly cladding and obscuring the stair as a design feature.

Blackened steel laser-cut in a repetitive honeycomb pattern hides the stair and is LED backlit to change colors, controlled manually or by a timer.