The York

Lake Oswego, Oregon

Designed for the Water

Custom Steel Railings + Dock Staircase

Set across multiple levels of a Lake Oswego waterfront home, The York began with a clear design objective: create a fully custom railing system that felt substantial without appearing heavy. The railings needed to complement the home’s cedar-shake boathouse and evolving architectural language while connecting the upper living-level deck, bridge and boathouse roof deck, and lower waterfront dock as one cohesive system.

Approximately 180 linear feet of custom steel railing were designed and fabricated specifically for the property. Rather than relying on stock railing components or conventional mounting hardware, de stijl FORMS developed the system around the architecture itself—using custom laser-cut flanges, purpose-built structural connections, carefully controlled baluster spacing, and concealed or visually minimized hardware to maintain a clean, uninterrupted appearance.

Much of the work was designed while the surrounding deck construction was still underway. Using site measurements, completed stringers, and Fusion 360 models, de stijl FORMS developed railing geometry before many of the finished mounting conditions existed, allowing fabrication and construction to progress simultaneously.

Custom steel railing designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS for a waterfront residence in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The railing integrates with the stone architecture using project-specific mounting details and a restrained vertical baluster design.
Custom steel stair railing fabricated for The York waterfront residence in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The railing follows the long exterior stair run with consistent vertical baluster spacing, connecting the home’s upper living areas to the lower waterfron
Custom steel railing and aluminum sconce mounting plates designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS for The York in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The project-specific sconce plates integrate the exterior lighting with the stone columns while the steel railing
Custom steel bridge railing designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS for The York in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The railing was fabricated as three equal sections spanning the bridge, creating a continuous architectural rhythm while accommodating the stru
Custom steel railing designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS for The York in Lake Oswego, Oregon. This section defines the edge of the property as the landscape transitions into the steep hillside leading toward the lower waterfront deck.
Custom steel railing designed and fabricated for the combined boathouse roof deck at The York in Lake Oswego, Oregon. de stijl FORMS developed project-specific mounting standoffs that allow each railing section to drop precisely into position over th

Solving for the Site

The architecture and terrain of the property required many of the connections to be designed specifically for their location. Rather than adapting standard hardware to unusual conditions, de stijl FORMS developed project-specific mounting systems, flanges, and structural connections around the geometry of the house, decks, stairs, and waterfront.

Several of these details were developed in Fusion 360 before the surrounding construction was complete. Working from site measurements and known structural conditions allowed components to be modeled, fabricated, and refined while construction continued—turning changing site conditions into a design problem rather than a limitation.

Custom stainless steel mounting connection developed for The York railing system in Lake Oswego, Oregon, designed around the project’s specific architectural and structural conditions.
Custom stainless steel mounting bracket fabricated from the project-specific Fusion 360 design for The York railing system in Lake Oswego, Oregon.
Fabricated stainless steel railing connection showing the welded geometry and integrated mounting points developed specifically for The York waterfront project in Lake Oswego, Oregon.
Site fitting of the custom stainless steel mounting connection, developed to resolve the specific architectural conditions of The York railing installation in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

Built for the Architecture

The railing system was treated as part of the architecture rather than a collection of individual components. Dimensions, transitions, mounting points, and connection details were developed specifically for each condition so the finished steelwork could remain visually consistent as it moved between decks, stairs, stonework, and the waterfront.

That approach extended beyond the railings themselves. The project included a custom aluminum dock staircase and other purpose-built architectural details, each designed around the conditions of the property rather than adapted from an off-the-shelf solution.

Fusion 360 design model for a project-specific steel railing connection developed for The York waterfront residence in Lake Oswego, Oregon, allowing the mounting system to be engineered around the architecture before fabrication.
Custom-fabricated steel mounting plates and structural components for The York railing system, developed specifically for the architectural conditions of the Lake Oswego waterfront property.
Purpose-built steel railing connection assemblies during fabrication for The York, combining custom-cut plates, welded components, and mechanical fasteners into a mounting system designed specifically for the project.
Finished custom steel railing connection installed at The York in Lake Oswego, Oregon, showing how the project-specific mounting system integrates the architectural metalwork cleanly into the surrounding deck construction.

From Design to Installation

Designing the system was only part of the process. The railing, mounting hardware, and architectural components were fabricated and fit specifically for the conditions established on site, allowing details developed in CAD to be tested, refined, and resolved through fabrication.

Installation required the same level of precision. Working across multiple elevations and changing conditions along the waterfront, each section had to align with the architecture while maintaining consistent spacing, geometry, and visual rhythm throughout the property. The result is a system in which the engineering largely disappears—leaving the finished metalwork to feel intentional, simple, and integrated with the house.

Custom-fabricated architectural metal connection being fit on site for The York waterfront project in Lake Oswego, Oregon, translating project-specific design details into the final installation.
Custom aluminum mounting plate designed and fabricated for a Schoolhouse Electric exterior sconce at The York in Lake Oswego, Oregon, adapting the fixture to the project’s existing architectural and masonry conditions.
Fabricated aluminum mounting assembly for a Schoolhouse exterior sconce, showing the project-specific tabs and connection details developed to position the fixture cleanly against the masonry at The York.
Finished Schoolhouse exterior sconce installed with the custom aluminum mounting plate at The York in Lake Oswego, Oregon, creating a clean transition between the light fixture and the home’s masonry architecture.

A Cohesive System

Across nearly 180 linear feet of custom steel railing, the goal was consistency. Each section responds to a different architectural condition, but the proportions, spacing, materials, and detailing remain part of the same visual language as the system moves from the upper residence to the boathouse and waterfront below.

The finished project reflects the approach behind de stijl FORMS: understand the architecture, identify the constraints, and develop the details necessary to make a complex solution feel simple. From the primary railing system to the dock staircase, custom mounting hardware, and smaller architectural elements, each component was designed as part of the whole.

Custom black steel railing overlooking the waterfront at The York residence in Lake Oswego, Oregon, designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS.
Custom black steel railing integrated with the cedar-shake boathouse at The York waterfront residence in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

Designed Around the Problem

The York demonstrates the value of designing fabrication around the architecture rather than forcing the architecture to accommodate a predetermined system. Each condition presented a different problem, but the objective remained the same: develop a solution that performs precisely, belongs to the space, and feels inevitable once installed.

That process—from site measurement and CAD through custom fabrication and installation—is central to the work of de stijl FORMS.

Custom black steel stair railing following the exterior stairs at The York residence in Lake Oswego, Oregon, designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS.
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