Tribeca Townhouse
New York, NY

Three-story Blackened Steel, Stainless Steel & Glass Staircase; Custom Metal Furniture

Jaroff Design was commissioned to fabricate the dramatic architectural centerpiece of this five-story downtown home, a translucent suspended glass staircase that would allow natural light from the skylight and glass-enclosed, rooftop-terrace to filter all the way to the bedroom level three stories below. Jaroff Design sourced a special glass composite from Germany to create treads that would be appropriately slip-resistant and hold up to the wear and tear of a busy family while still having the desired translucence. The central steel spine provides a support system that is elegant and minimal, while also allowing flexibility for repairs and maintenance in the years to come. The patina on the spine and metal railing was then custom-fabricated by our shop to match the wooden floors of the original loft space. While natural light penetrates the glass stairs during the day, Jaroff Design introduced a centrally integrated lighting system, with a column of tiny custom fixtures suspended on cables, so that the entire staircase is illuminated by a soft glow during the evenings. A final flight of spiral glass stairs is separate from the main staircase, creating an intimate entry into the private enclosed roof-terrace, custom fabricated from structural glass and detailed with blacked stainless steel. In addition, we designed and fabricated metal and glass display cases in matching finishes for the owner’s art collection, a custom coffee table, and clear glass railings to serve as invisible barriers protecting the third-floor balcony.

For the past thirty-eight plus years, Jaroff Design, under the management of founder Joseph Jaroff, has led the design, fabrication, installation and coordination of custom architectural glass and metal for the construction, architecture, interior design and art communities.

Joe received a BFA in Metalwork and Sculpture from RIT’s prestigious School for American Craft and studied Art History at Harvard University. During the time he was a student, Joe received several grants for public art projects including those from the National Endowment for the Arts and New York State Council for the Arts.

After graduating, Joe moved to New York City to pursue an art career, supplementing his income with architectural metal and glass design and fabrication work for contractors and commissioned projects. This early work led Joe to the realization that he could fill an unrecognized need within the building and arts community, primarily in through blending his skill sets of designer, fabricator, coordinator and project orchestrator.

Jaroff Design has developed and realized design solutions for projects by architects such as Tony Chi, Herzog & De Meuron, Richard Gluckmann, Peter Marino, Toshiko Mori, Polshek Partnership Architects, Ennead Architects, S.O.M., Phillipe Stark, Adam Tihany, Annabelle Selldorf, Andrew Berman and The Rockwell Group among many others.

Fashion Clients include showrooms and flagship locations for Armani, Issey Miyake, Alexander McQueen, Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, Stella McCartney, Barneys, Louis Vuitton, Van Cleef & Arpels, YSL and Chanel.

Fine dining clientele have seen JD work at Asiate, Le Cirque, The Sea Grill, 11 Madison Avenue, Bruno’s Wine Club and the Hudson Hotel Bar. Cultural clients include Jazz at Lincoln Center, MOMA PS1 and New York City Center.