Moving through
Escalator
transit station shopping center airport hillside neighborhood
A staircase of moving steps that carries people continuously between two levels.
What it solves
It moves many people without waiting. In hillside cities it can bring upper neighborhoods closer to the center and to public life.
Today
If it is outdoors, protect it from rain and sun. Place a fixed stair next to it for when it stops and an elevator for those who cannot use it. Arrival landings must be wide and well lit.
Common mistake
Offering it as the only route, which leaves out people in wheelchairs, with strollers or afraid to step on.
Tomorrow
Motors that slow down when no one is using it save energy. Sensors make it possible to anticipate failures before it stops.
Fact Its usual speed ranges from 0.3 to 0.9 meters per second, with an incline of 30 or 35 degrees.
Where it comes from
- 1Industrial era Coney Island, New York, 1896
The first working escalator was built, a belt inclined at 25 degrees. - 2Hillside city Hong Kong, 1993
A system about 800 meters long climbs 135 meters and changes direction according to the time of day. - 3Social urbanism Comuna 13, Medellín, Colombia, 2011
Six double outdoor flights replace 350 steps in a hillside neighborhood.
Masters
- Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France, 1977
They run the escalators in a zigzag up the facade inside transparent tubes. Riding them, people see the city from ever higher, and movement becomes part of the building.
See also
Also in Moving through
Diagrams and texts by LDB Arquitectura. They are shared under the CC BY 4.0 license, which allows them to be used and adapted with credit to the source.