Helmsley-based company Bisca has won Best Staircase at the 2023 Build It Awards.

Beating a host of impressive entries, bespoke staircase company Bisca secured the win by demonstrating the high level of design and craftsmanship that goes into every staircase.

The winning design also showcased Bisca’s skill in using reclaimed materials, in this case repurposing timber from old lock gates, sourced from The Canal & Rivers Trust.

Bisca designed, crafted, and installed a bespoke staircase for a barn conversion which forms the centre piece of the home, perfectly combining the spirit of the building’s past with its repurposing into a modern home. The free-floating helical design sits within the open plan kitchen and living area, only connected to the fabric of the building at the head and the foot.

The large, solid timber treads are supported by a slim, white-painted structure with a sweeping, plastered soffit to the underside.

The timber treads are beautifully rustic in appearance with movement showing from their previous life. To maintain the structural integrity of the treads, Bisca created bronze butterfly ties, which also form an attractive detail on the design. Each tread was hand-crafted in Bisca’s workshop by creating blocks of timber from the lock gate, which were then finished to the exact shape and size. The design also features a balustrade made of heavily textured mild steel uprights which are fixed directly into the treads and handrails. Round-section oak handrails flow onto the landings and at the foot of the stair they transition into feature newel posts which match the uprights. The curvaceous form continues onto the first floor where Bisca also created the curved landing extension.

Bisca’s winning design shows the stunning difference a bespoke design can make to a property.

Richard McLane, Design Director, Bisca: “We’re absolutely thrilled to have won Best Staircase in the prestigious Build It Awards, a great recognition of the work of our entire team. The winning project is particularly special as it gave new life to a previously used material, something I care passionately about personally. The timber from the old lock gate added a unique character to the design and helped create the perfect balance of the staircase being a central feature in the home whilst reflecting the building’s past.”

Set up by Richard, a time-served blacksmith, nearly 30 years ago, Bisca has progressed from one man and his paper sketches to a design studio with the latest design technology, a traditional forge and cutting-edge machinery, employing over 20 people.

Richard added: "Every Bisca staircase is individually designed and built entirely in the company’s own workshop in Yorkshire. Each staircase is the handiwork of a dedicated team of multi-skilled craftspeople who work across a whole range of disciplines, including metalwork, cabinetmaking, blacksmithing, stitching and spraying - century old skills are married with modern technology to create truly unique staircases.

"Design and craft are what drive Bisca, but the company is also motivated by making the business’s carbon footprint as small as possible. Investment in recent years means that heating for the workshop is supplied by a wood pellet boiler, and 80% of electricity needed on-site comes from solar panels. Electric car charging ports are free to use for staff, and 658 fruit and mixed native trees have been planted close to the workshop to improve biodiversity and balance carbon emissions. As well as recyclable packaging being used wherever possible, reclaimed materials – old timber, harbour props, lock gates and vodka barrels, are often repurposed to construct stairs."