The entrance hall of this Abu Dhabi villa is organised around a single vertical object. A cylindrical aquarium rises through three floors, and the stair winds around it rather than beside it.
A stairway arranged around a tank
The engineering issue came before the aesthetic proposition. Such a high tank carries enormous weight and requires filtration, lighting and access that is not intended to be seen. These demands set the diameter of the drum, and the drum dictates the radius of the stair.
Jellyfish, and why they suit the job
Jellyfish move slowly and read well in silhouette, which is provides stimulating visual appeal from different levels and from every angle as you ascend. Illuminated from above, the light is carried down through the water and into the hall.
