A Sculptural Stair – BELT Metal Art+Design Studio

A  masterwork of art, engineering and craft, the monumental central staircase by BELT Metal Art+Design Studio is the centerpiece of a private Texas estate and a testament to the owner’s passion for the equestrian life.

The four-story staircase, which runs from the basement to the roof’s observation deck, comprises thousands of pieces, including over 200 wrought-iron plates, and required more than 14,350 hours of skilled labor over the course of eight months.

“We’ve been in business for 40 years, and this is one of the most difficult and challenging projects I have ever undertaken,” says Louis Beltran, the self-described maestro and CEO of BELT.

The project, which unfolded over four years, was executed to fulfill the owner’s expectations to survey the award-winning racehorses he breeds on the ranch.

It began with a sketch from architect Wilson Fuqua, whose eponymous firm built the house.

The sketch was followed by drawings, mock-ups, and 3D models, and the staircase was fabricated in pieces in BELT’s Colombia factory, shipped to the house, and assembled.

“The remote location of the ranch added logistical complexities, requiring precise materials, tools, and workforce coordination,” Beltran says.

Made of wrought-iron with intricate bronze details, the spiral staircase was inspired by those in lighthouses and is designed to curve around a cylindrical glass elevator that will be added sometime in the future.

“Its design required absolute precision to achieve flawless integration with the elevator shaft,” Beltran says. “Each tread was meticulously engineered, fabricated, and installed, demanding advanced modeling techniques and rigorous on-site adjustments.”

It was, he adds, like putting together LEGO pieces.

“It was during a conversation with the architect and the owner, who races and breeds pure-blood horses, that we came up with the idea of creating an equestrian finial that is based on the Kentucky Derby Trophy and that embodies the spirit of equine grace,” Beltran says.

The BELT team replicated the base of one trophy in bronze, topping it with a horse.

“The original has a jockey on the horse, but ours doesn’t,” Beltran says. “It’s waiting for a man to jump on.”

Driven by the owner’s profound knowledge of equine anatomy and his insistence on precision, the BELT team spent scores of hours creating the design.

“An off-the-shelf model wouldn’t cut it,” Beltran says. “Every muscle, bone, and pose had to be perfect. We delved into the complexities of equine anatomy, modeling the horse from scratch and refining it through detailed feedback from the owner to achieve the ideal pose that showcased specific muscles and movement in a miniature.”

He adds that the small scale of the statue amplified the challenge, requiring the precision of a lost-wax mold, a technique typically reserved for fine jewelry.

The design and product development phase totaled more than 720 hours, using advanced software tools such as Procreate, CorelDRAW, AutoCAD, and Rhinoceros to model, illustrate, and refine every component with artistic and structural accuracy.

Beltran notes that the project was a collaborative effort between artisans, engineers, and designers. “It’s a testament to the synergy of disciplines, where innovation and craftsmanship converge to overcome these challenges, creating a stair that stands as a masterpiece of art and engineering,” he says.

When the project was completed and Beltran walked up the staircase with the owner to gaze at the horses grazing on the property, it was, he says, “really emotional because we made a dream come true.” TB