Issue 44 winter 24 - Journal - Page 20
crucial consideration for the design team, who had to
work with millimetre clearances.
Due to the site complexity, this was a task for Major
Projects, our specialist division that works on technically
complex or long-period construction projects, typically in
heritage sites or infrastructure. The Stannah Major Projects Division’s role in the Elizabeth Tower Lift Project included detailed manufacturing design of the lift and
platform, installation, commissioning, and lift warranty
maintenance.
Collaboration and detailed planning
The complex and precise engineering of the lift project
required close collaboration between Stannah, the lift
supplier, and an independent lift consulting engineering
firm, SVM Associates (SVMA). Established in 2004,
SVMA designs, manages, problem-solves, and quality
checks all aspects of a lift or escalator's life with clients
in all sectors across the UK, including high-rise, commercial, healthcare, transport, education, and government. SVMA has overseen lifts on behalf of Parliament’s
Strategic Estates since 2013.
Two custom-built solutions
Within the 11.7m2 ventilation shaft space, a bespoke
energy-efficient, gearless, traction-drive passenger lift was
built. The 13-person lift is contained within its own
structural skeleton to minimise any penetrations into the
building's historic fabric. The engineering interface between the new lift equipment and the existing historic
features of the ventilation shaft, such as the original
Victorian tie-rods, has been designed and installed with
millimetre tolerance.
SVMA is employed by mechanical design engineers SI
Sealy, which in turn is employed by Lendlease as the
construction management company. SVMA’s role in the
Elizabeth Tower lift project included lift and platform
design, technical tender evaluation, involvement with
design development and technical quality control.
The physical constraints of the tower mean that the main
lift stops two floors below the Belfry. From here, along a
narrow corridor, neatly tucked into incredibly limited
space, a smaller 500kg hydraulic lift platform that services
the final 4.3mm between the last two floors and gives lift
access to the Belfry. Due to the belfry environment, the
lift has been built to an external specification with 316grade stainless steel and hot-dipped galvanized steel,
chequer plate floor and IP54-rated buttons.
With a legacy nearly as long as Elizabeth Tower, Stannah
was founded on the banks of the Thames in London in
1867, not far downstream from Westminster. Today, Stannah continues to be a family-run and owned business supplying a wide range of commercial and domestic lifting
products.
Above, platform lift gives clock tower maintenance teams
better access to the Belfry
Above, view of platform lift console
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