We are delighted to announce the launch of a new collaboration – Cadence – with revered piano makers Steinway & Sons.
It was a pleasure to discover our shared heritage in European crafting traditions which, like LANSERRING, Steinway has brought into a new era for their field. As design and craftsmanship fanatics, our collaboration represents a meeting of minds to create a unique space and experience.
Cadence is at the lower ground level of a classic Victorian terraced house with a south facing garden. At the southeast corner of the LANSERRING-designed space stands the Steinway ‘Spirio’: the world’s finest high-resolution player piano. Using cutting-edge actuator technology, the Steinway ‘Spirio’ will play itself in an exact recreation of a grand master performance, creating an unadulterated listening experience of live piano music.
Behind this peerless piano is a curved wall which reflects its rich tonal sound outwards into the room. A bespoke designed sound-dispersing chandelier made from steam bent veneer hangs above. Its abstract curving leaf design is inspired by concert hall design of international quality. There are no speakers; the aural experience from every zone has been planned and augmented with LANSERRING design and craftsmanship.
The space itself is encircled by a band of concrete which wraps around the upper half of the walls. At a second depth, the lower half of the walls are clad in natural quartzite. Steel fins hold the walls and ceiling in place while at the same time creating shafts for natural light to pour down the walls. In the bays created by the fins, timber shelves sit proud of the wall, allowing the light to wash uninterrupted down the concrete face. The shelves are populated by artwork, sculptures, and musical memorabilia. Cabinets fitted in the bays next to the seating area feature metal and glass doors in classic LANSERRING vernacular, and the doors open on piano hinges.
At the southwest corner of the room is an elegant LANSERRING kitchen. Raised off the floor by brass legs in a unique faceted finish, the cabinetry manages to feel light and airy. Their fronts are detailed with flowing, organic lines which, on closer inspection, are found to be grooves that flow gracefully across the wood and metalwork. The design is continued on the kitchen island in front, referencing the flow of melody. On the worktop, the gas burners have been sunk into the quartzite, maximising the visual continuity of the crystalline structure. Here we see LANSERRING’s mastercraftmanship skill and attention to detail at work: this elegant, low impact design can only be achieved with an absolute mastery of stonework.
The entire experience has been designed to transform from day to night. The music playing on the Steinway will progress from light, relaxed daytime music to deeper atmospheric music for the evening. As the inhabitants of the space embrace the lower light and drinks party atmosphere, LANSERRING design will quietly adapt. Where during the day, sunlight would pour down the lightwells, our lighting plan in the evening uses up lights in the bottom of the bays between the fins for low-lit elegance.
At the top of the space, a walled winter garden has been sunk to ground level. In the evening, the inhabitants of the space can migrate here and enjoy the fire pit and the percussion of crackling embers with ‘Spirio’ music still flowing from indoors.
As a bespoke kitchen designer, LANSERRING is often asked to rise to exacting and unique briefs. Cadence is a space for a music lover and frequent host looking to revel in and share their passion for music. For LANSERRING, rising to a brief such as this is seizing the opportunity of bespoke design to augment the client’s lifestyle and transform their experience of their home.
