In an example of adaptive reuse, a studio complex called Cinespace is under construction at the old Ryerson Steel site in Chicago. (Please see photo below.) For over one hundred years, Chicago Metal Rolled Products has been—and continues to be–both a metal-buying customer and a steel-bending supplier for Ryerson Steel, one of the largest steel distributors in the nation.
Now we find ourselves supplying Cinespace at that same Chicago site with helical bending for a circular staircase on the set of “The Playboy Club,” a TV series debuting this fall.
The inside stair stringer is made of 10 x 2 x ¼ rectangular tube curved to a very tight 2ft 10in inside radius with a 44 degree pitch and an orientation of walk up turn right. The outside stringer has the same size tube curved to an 8ft inside radius with a 18.86 degree pitch.
No doubt we’ll see “Hef” descending these spiral stairs donning his trademark smoking jacket.
