Moving through
Elevator
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A car that rises and descends in a vertical shaft to carry people or goods between floors.
What it solves
It makes upper floors accessible to anyone, regardless of age or mobility. It enables multi-story buildings in dense cities.
Today
Place it near the entrance and the stair, with a car large enough for a wheelchair and a companion, reachable buttons with raised markings and audible signals. Plan for maintenance and a safe exit if the power fails.
Common mistake
Leaving it for the end of the design, when neither the shaft nor an accessible car fits anymore.
Tomorrow
In low-rise buildings, adding a shared elevator lets older neighbors keep living in their neighborhood. It is best to agree on shared maintenance from the start.
Fact By 2030 one in six people in the world will be 60 or older, according to the World Health Organization.
Where it comes from
- 1Greek world Mediterranean, around 236 BC
According to Vitruvius, Archimedes probably built the first elevator. - 2Imperial Rome Colosseum, Rome, 80 AD
About 25 elevators powered by up to eight men raised animals into the arena. - 3Industrial era New York, United States, 1854 and 1857
A safety brake that prevents the car from falling is demonstrated in public, and the first passenger elevator with that system is installed.
Masters
- Richard Rogers Lloyd's Building, London, United Kingdom, 1986
He moves the twelve glass elevators out to the facade together with stairs and ducts to leave the interior free. He shows that the elevator can also be a visible piece of architecture.
Appears in the routes
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.