Vertical cable railing, private residence, Delhi

DADA Design & Development Atelier designed Sundial House, a private residence in the Delhi region, with a stair whose treads float off the wall. The architects wanted a railing that kept the stair open and light. Instead of a balustrade, vertical stainless cables run from the stair up to the ceiling, so the edge reads as a screen of fine lines. Acier supplied and installed the ropes and fittings.

A stair like this is seen from every side and at close range. Balusters or glass would add visual weight to a stair designed to look weightless. Every cable has to be anchored at both ends: into the stair at the bottom, where the finishes were already in place, and into the ceiling at the top, where the brackets had to disappear once the ceiling was closed. Each rope must also hold its tension so the screen stays straight.

Jakob Ø4 mm stainless ropes, each about 3.2 m long, run vertically from the stair to the ceiling. Each rope has swaged external-thread ends: one is fixed into the stair, and the other is anchored into the slab with an internally threaded anchor that is later hidden by the finished ceiling, so only the ropes are seen. A turnbuckle on every rope sets the tension.

At Ø4 mm, the ropes are thin enough to keep the stair visually open, and strong enough when correctly tensioned. Seen from across the room, they read as a vertical screen that rises with the stair. Protecting the finished stone and walls during the work was part of the job, and the installation took about ten days on site.

The stair keeps its light, floating look, with a railing that reads as fine vertical lines rather than a barrier. The ropes need no painting and hold their tension without re-tensioning. For architects, it shows how a cable screen can protect a stair without competing with it.