Sculptural Living Staircase as Centerpiece for London’s Ampersand Building

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One of the most recognized office locations in London, the Ampersand Building, reunites exciting design elements. The Living Staircase by Paul Cocksedge is the new centerpiece of the building, an original unit providing much more than functionality: “Paul Cocksedge’s design removes the load-bearing pillar from the center of a traditional staircase design and replaces it with a series of zones for relaxation, creative thinking and informal workplace interaction.” The entire length of the balustrade is planted, and thus converted into a beautiful miniature garden that the staff here can look after.

The new spiral staircase is an aesthetically wondrous element, filling the room with its lovely curves and green additions. As the designer stated, it is meant to serve as an integral part of the space: “If a staircase is essentially about going from A to B, there is now a whole world living and breathing in the space between the two. I hope the Living Staircase will be used in ways we hadn’t at all expected! This is the beauty of it: it allows so much space for all kinds of activities. I’m really looking forward to Ampersand’s staff taking over the structure and making it totally their own.” [Photography: Mark Cocksedge]