OFF-STEPS, inspired by the new connections from the city to the beach, amplifies the experience of a recently completed stairway by responding to its shape, structure, steep terrain and native landscape. Playing off the experience of traversing the pathway, OFF-STEPS turns the stair into a space of discovery, taking on different characteristics from different pedestrian perspectives as it reflects its surrounding natural landscape.
OFF-STEPS is derived from the existing proportions of the stair, each stair is rotated 90 degrees into a vertical stainless steel ‘fin’. By angling each fin for specific lines of vision, new site relationships are produced. When the fins run parallel to the user, a distorted reflection of the beach is produced on the surface of the vertical fins, but when they are perpendicular to the stair edge they produce the a vanish-and-reveal effect with perspective.
Constructed from resilient, 304 grade stainless steel, precise facets are folded into the mirrored sheets to calibrate views of the sky, beach and horizon. OFF-STEPS vanishes and reappears with perspective, offering a new way to see the surrounding natural and distinctive environments.