Stairs as Storage: The Upgrade
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto 
on 02.13.08
Last year just about every design website and magazine showed a set of stairs with storage built into each riser; over at Planet Green we even give instructions on how to build it.
Holger Kehne and Eva Castro of London's Plasma Studio have done a very elegant version of the storage stair in their Esker Haus, a renovation and addition in San Candido, Italy. It has an exterior stair that is a killer, too.
Stair closed
Stair open (I can't quite figure out what the upper drawers are doing)
Exterior Stair. ::Plasma Studio
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I think the flip up piece is to keep people from trying to come down the stairs when open...you know safety first!
What are the upper stairs doing?
Very simple - keeping someone from walking down the stairs into a sliding drawer at night because it was left open. The raised cap on the upper stairs is a safety feature to be used anytime any drawer is open.
The biggest problem with drawers in stairs is safety and liability. For instance, there are regulations regarding stair design and evenness of tread and riser because people need stairs to be predictable. A stair which changes configuration presents unique issues.
I like drawers in stairs. I also never want to hurt myself because I stepped into a drawer.
It looks like the "upper drawers" aren't drawers, but a flip-top open space three stairs deep.
That exterior stair - wow!
Very clever and beautiful