SCAD alumni transform 18th-century staircase into colourful installation during Design Miami Paris

Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) has revealed a colourful tufted flooring installation at this year’s Design Miami.Paris, as seen in this exclusive video produced by Dezeen.

Los Angeles-based designer and SCAD alumnus Abel Macias covered the staircase in fabric as part of a wider showcase of alumni works on display at the historic L’hôtel de Maisons in Paris.

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Macias transformed the 18th-century staircase using bright colours and shapes informed by the landscape of the American Southwest.

At the top of the staircase, SCAD fibres graduate and Associate Chair of Fine Arts Gretchen Wagner presented a colourful suspended sculptural installation made from accordion-folded paper cylinders.

paper cylinder installation at design miami paris by SCAD alumni — The showcase included a colourful suspended sculptural installation by Gretchen Wagner

The paper cylinders were embellished with embroidered beading and hung from the ceiling like a chandelier.

SCAD furniture design graduate Evan Baker presented a wood-grain credenza, while SCAD furniture design graduate Anne Weber Callahan showed two ceramic stools meant to mimic clay.

stools by SCAD furniture design graduate Anne Weber Callahan — SCAD furniture design graduate Anne Weber Callahan created two ceramic stools meant to mimic clay

Meanwhile, SCAD fibres graduate Katie Hagen designed a natural-dyed silk organza weaving, which was displayed alongside six sculptural lamps made by SCAD industrial design graduate Marcelo Suro.

The lamps merge hand-blown glass and volcanic stone and were created this past year by Suro during SCAD’s Alumni Atelier residency in Lacoste, France.

SCAD installation by alumni at Design Miami Paris — The installation also included a natural-dyed silk organza weaving and six sculptural lamps

Macias completed a BFA illustration in 2002 and Wagner undertook an MFA in painting in 2023 and a BFA in fibres in 2011. Baker finished a BFA in furniture design in 2025, while Callahan graduated with a BFA in furniture design in 2019. Hagen obtained her MFA in fibres in 2023 and an MA in production design in 2023.

Last year, SCAD debuted an intricate plaster-cast installation at its booth during Design Miami in Florida.

SCAD is the official university partner of Design Miami and will next exhibit at the fair’s flagship event in Miami Beach this December.

To learn more about SCAD, visit its website.

The photography is courtesy of SCAD.

Design Miami Paris took place from 20 to 25 October in Paris, France. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

Partnership content

This video was produced by Dezeen as part of a partnership with SCAD. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.