Thresholds in the Garden Landscape: Garden Steps

This stair traverses a garden carved out of an Indiana sand dune and cradles multi-level plantings that are the focal point from within a new, modern addition to a traditional home.

Designed as a focal point for those on the terrace across the sunken lawn, these steps are surprising in that they don’t lead to anything more than what you see, the armillary and a wall separating this property from the neighbor.

This last sample is for a house on a small knoll near a lake. Instead of a direct stair down, three cantilevered plinths – structurally engineered to lessen the impact on the bluff and give the effect of floating decks – break up a descent from house to lake and extend the horizontal qualities of the house into the landscape.

The segmented stairway encourages pause – to appreciate views, to hear sound of water falling from the zero edge pool, or to rest! Let us know your favorites!