While Danish architect Tommy Rand mainly focuses on urban property development via his firm Markholt & Rand, he recently flipped the script with one of his latest projects, a new two-level home for his family. The architect, who’s now 40, had always dreamed of building a house of his own, and after a near-death motorcycle accident in 2018, he decided it was time. While in recovery, he began thinking about the design.

A spiral staircase made of CNC cut plywood takes center stage in Tommy Rand's house in Aarhus, Denmark. Tommy Rand put five boxes together and placed them on a concrete base. The interior is made of three main materials -- concrete, oak and Norwegian ski stone -- while Markholt & Rand also designed all the furniture, which was crafted in oak by a cabinet maker.

The spiral staircase, visible from the outside through floor-to-ceiling glass, becomes the centre of the house. The stairs are made from 630 pieces of CNC cut plywood, assembled and glued on site, one piece at a time. When you enter the home, its central features are immediately revealed. "There, the spiral staircase stands in the middle of a square window, like a sculpture," said the architects. "The staircase is shaped like a snail house, and the opening gets bigger and bigger as you go up to the first floor."

Measuring nearly 800 square feet, the residence features large, open living areas, four bedrooms, two baths, and a garage. Glass doors connect the lower level public spaces to the outdoors, where a west-facing terrace links to the kitchen. "The floors on the terrace are made from Norwegian stone, like inside the house, so it makes the inside and outside space float together visually," says Tommy.