MUSEUM OF THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE
Broad Street, Oxford
TONY WARREN LIMITED
University of Oxford
Fulcrum Consulting
Austin Smith Lord
One new passenger lift in external environment
Client:
Commissioned by:
Architect:
Lift Contractor:
Scope:
First things first: Fulcrum and ourselves were not responsible for the design or specification of this lift. The Museum, in the heart of Oxford, wanted to provide ‘proper’ disabled access in accordance with Building Regulations to their newly created Basement visitor area.
To meet the Client’s requirements, it was necessary to have the lift serving up from the Basement to an exposed courtyard at the street level with no enclosure permissible. The only solution was to have no permanent lift well at the upper level, with hydraulic trapdoors at the top of the lift well which opened when the lift needed to travel up. The car could not be guided in the usual way, as there was no structure to fix the guides to above the top level, so the car sat on top of its sling, requiring a much deeper pit below the lower level — so far so good!
When the ‘missed opportunities became obvious, we were called in — the lift was not designed or specified for an external environment. Our role was to make as much of a silk purse out of a pig’s ear as possible, by improving heating and ventilation in the well, advising on drainage and sealing of the trapdoor, and simply ensuring that the design and build contractor did what was necessary to make the lift work.
We managed to get the lift to a state acceptable to the Client, allowing it to be put into service. This was not to a level we would have been satisfied with had we been involved from the concept, however we could only work with what we had been given and not start from scratch.
© 2010 TONY WARREN LIMITED
