Interacting in The Crystal

Two Stannah lift products are helping visitors to The Crystal appreciate a vision of urban sustainability. Located in London’s Victoria Dock, this state-of-the-art building is hosting Our Urban Future – the world’s largest exhibition on the future of sustainable cities – as well as a dedicated Centre of Competence for Sustainable Cities (COC). Futuristic in every sense, The Crystal is a £30-million initiative from global engineering and electronics conglomerate, Siemens. One of the world’s greenest buildings, which is aiming for exemplary BREEAM and LEED accreditation, it provides an interactive exhibition hall, office space for around 100 employees, a 270-seat auditorium, shop, restaurant and café facilities. Taking centre stage in the exhibition hall, the Midilift XLplus interacts between ground and mezzanine levels within the City Icon. This is a 6-metre-tall, generative artwork comprising an LED ‘city grid’ screen visualising the major themes of the exhibition. It was designed by creative technology consultancy, Hirsch and Mann, in collaboration with ‘creators of compelling branded content’, Squint Opera – the visionaries behind the entire interactivity suite. Supplied in a self-supporting structure making it quick and easy to install (no need for a load-bearing lift shaft, lifting beam or pit), the Midilift XLplus was the ideal solution for the City Icon feature – a self-supporting structure itself! At the upper level, a bridge links both structures, the lift and its users to further interactive features. Looking and behaving like a conventional passenger lift but at reduced running costs, the Midilift XLplus also complements the focus on sustainability. Traction-driven at a speed of 0.15m/s over a distance of 3570mm, the Midilift XLplus carries rated loads up to 400kg. Its many standard features include a 900mm clear opening at each entrance for optimum manoeuvrability, panoramic glazed landing doors for light-filled travel, two-tone arrival chime at each landing, surface-mounted call station with LED display and push-button control. The 250kg Trolleylift is a floor-level service lift designed to protect staff by minimising manual handling. Located on the ground floor, it moves refreshments on trolleys at a speed of 0.17m/s between the kitchen and the 1st-floor seminar rooms. Supplied in a structure-supported enclosure it took just 2-3 days to install and comprises a robust, easy-clean, single-entry stainless steel lift car complemented by left-hand hinged doors fitted with safety locks. A collapsible gate protects goods from falling out of the lift car whilst in motion. The Trolleylift also features fully automatic push button control with call and send facilities at each landing entrance, ‘lift arrival’, ‘lift occupied’ and ‘lift position’ indicators at each entrance, and an audible lift arrival buzzer. The motor is mounted at the top of the lift structure and drives a high quality reduction gearbox fitted with a traction vee-sheave. An electro-magnetic disc brake is supplied, with emergency release mechanism. The reliable controller and counter-balance drive system ensure electrical consumption is minimal. Silke Thomson-Pottebohm, PR Manager for The Crystal, comments: “Since opening in September 2012, The Crystal has been inundated with visitors drawn to its interactive sustainability exhibition, enlightening events and thought-leadership conferences. The Stannah Midilift XLplus and 250kg Trolleylift help navigate and service our facilities, supporting our vision to educate everyone about the technologies and solutions that can help to improve urban life and sustainability.” A full range of optional features and finishes is available for both lift products which also meet the requirements of all relevant standards. They are also serviced by the London & the South East (Dartford) branch of Stannah Lift Services, part of a nationwide network providing 24 hour, 365 days a year support.