A wood and leather ladder appears to stretch endlessly upwards and downwards in this Milan design week installation, created by a team featuring architecture firm Snøhetta.
Forming part of Wallpaper magazine's Holy Handmade exhibition, Portal is the result of a collaboration between Snøhetta, Brooklyn design studio Everything Elevated and Danish upholsterer Erik Jørgensen Møbelfabrik.

The free-standing ladder, sandwiched between two carefully positioned round mirror-clad podiums, gives the illusion of stretching endlessly upwards and downwards.
It was designed as a physical expression of a spiritual experience.

Stian Rossi, architect at Snøhetta, explained: "The installation Portal is the result of a holistic approach combined with a variety of creative disciplines that are blended together, resulting in a one-of-a-kind installation." "The installation has been carefully curated as a monolithic piece that invites the spectator to observe it from different perspectives," he continued, "from a distance in the architectural space of Santa Teresa Mediatheque in Milan to the closest detail of the high-quality leather stitching."

Portal is made from solid oak wood that has been stained black, and upholstered with Erik Jørgensen Møbelfabrik's Cohiba leather.
"It was important to us that we created something seemingly simple," added Niels Jørgensen, CEO of Erik Jørgensen Møbelfabrik.
"However, when you look close, ...