Highcliffe

We were approached by a client in Highcliffe-on-Sea on the Dorset/Hampshire border who was looking to make their home accessible again. Highcliffe is a small village located on the south coast close to Bournemouth and Poole in the West and about 5 minute drive into the New Forest to the East. Highcliffe is a popular tourist destination with award-winning beaches, nature reserves and a clifftop castle. Dorset is home to an ageing population with a third of the population in some areas of East Dorset over the age of 65. This coupled with the fact that many of these low-rise residential blocks of flats were built without lifts are now gradually becoming inaccessible for some of their residents.

Inaccessibility can make even simple tasks difficult and in the worst scenarios can lead to isolation. This particular project was to provide access for a client whose flat was situated in a 12 flat, 3-storey block close to the heart of Highcliffe village. Due to the galleried staircase there wasn't a supporting wall to fix into. This meant that we went for a lift in its own glass and steel structure which sits in the stairwell and goes all the way through to the ceiling on the third floor. The good thing about our lifts is that we can alter the lift's size in 50mm increments for both the width and the depth. This means that we can design a lift to fit the space that you have rather than trying to fit a specific set product into the available space. In this instance the structure measured 980mm wide by 1565mm deep which gave a lift cabin measuring 890mm wide by 1200mm deep.

The lift was handed over in the week before Christmas which meant that the client had full use of the lift over the festive period.

Sovereign House

We were approached by Dovetail Architects who were designing a new commercial office in Basildon, Essex. Sovereign House is located in the industrial area of Basildon, close to the M25, with Central London less than an hour away. The project entailed creating a 28,350 sq ft of office space spread over two floors with 42,500 sq ft of warehousing located to the rear of the building. In the main reception area, Dovetail had included a glass lift to link the ground and first floors. The lift would be a statement to visitors as they walked into the building as well as being a focal point of the reception. The client wanted an ultra-modern design with glass the prominent feature with minimal visible steelwork. The glass would allow all the workings of the lift to be exposed as well as allow light through the reception area.

We worked with Dovetail and Emerson Willis, the main contractor, to come up with a frameless glass structure that would encapsulate the lift. The client opted for glass swing landing doors as they have the maximum amount of glass compared to automatic sliding doors. The door frames were made out of polished stainless steel to reflect the premium finish of the rest of the site. The lift car itself had polished stainless steel framework and a polished stainless steel control panel and rear wall. The materials used in this lift give a modern clean finish that adds to the overall aesthetic of this premium office space. The project was finished in January 2020 in time for Emerson Willis' handover to the client.

To see more similar projects to Sovereign House please click on the following links:

Bexhill-on-Sea

We were approached by a private client in Bexhill-on-Sea who wanted to have a lift in their home. They had some very specific requirements about how they wanted the lift to look. The first was that they needed the lift to be circular. The client thought that the “box” design of a traditional lift wouldn’t fit with the style of their house. In addition it was very difficult to find any space within the home where the lift could be situated without breaking up a room or space. The most suitable option for this particular project was a pneumatic home lift. Firstly, our pneumatic lifts do not require a pit, that meant the client didn’t have to dig up any of their stone floor. The only thing our pneumatic lifts require is a strong level base. Secondly, these type of lifts are completely self supporting. This means that although they can be tied into balconies or plinths that it doesn’t make any difference to the structural integrity of the lift. Thirdly, pneumatic lifts run on air so there is no need for any drive system or mechanics to the side on above or below the lift. This reduces the overall impact and size of the lift which in this case opens up the entrance hallway more.

The client opted for the smallest size, the PVE30 which has an exterior diameter of 750mm, making it one of if not the smallest home lift in the world. The lift travels a total of 5.6 metres across 3 floors. The PVE30 features a 540mm curved door and has a rated load of 159kg. The client chose the taupe colour, a dark bronze, for this lift in order to match the metalwork around their house. The extruded aluminium frame coupled with the perspex panels make these pneumatic home lifts strong yet incredibly light. This makes installation quicker and easier and these lifts can be installed in as little as 1-2 days.

To see more examples of our projects for the home click on the following links:

The Swan at Streatley

The Swan at Streatley is a 17th century hotel on the banks of the River Thames, around 11 miles from Reading. The Hotel recently underwent a £12 million refurbishment including a new restaurant, redesigned rooms and a Coppa Club. The Coppa Club is a take on a private members club with a 380 cover restaurant, a large bar, fireplaces, events rooms and a private dinning room overlooking the river. Other Coppa Clubs are situated on the Thames at Henley, Sonning, Maidenhead and the most well known on the north bank by Tower Bridge in London.

During the renovation we were asked by Quadrant Design, having worked with them on projects at Venture House in Reading and Wagamama Wigmore Street, to install two platform lifts. The first, outside of the restaurant, travels a total of 800mm linking the restaurant with the covered terrace on the banks fo the river. The second, outside of the riverside function room, also travels 800mm which allows guests to access the small island off of the main hotel's ground to enjoy all the river has to offer. The lifts were finished in the same dark grey colour as the windows and door frames. They feature non skid platforms so that even in the rain the lifts can be used quickly and safely. Both platforms measure 1100mm x 1400mm and have rated loads of 300kg so even the largest electric wheelchairs can be accommodated. Both lifts are designed to withstand even the harshest of conditions and as you can see in the photos they can easily cope with the British summer.

The lifts were installed in time for the hotels grand reopening in July 2019.

The Base at Greenham

We were approached by Calco Construction, a Newbury based construction company, who we had previously worked with during the construction of a home in Enbourne, Berkshire. Calco builds several luxury homes in the Newbury area as well as the wider South. In addition Calco has undertaken several commercial projects including the construction of The Base during wider renovation works of Greenham Common. Greenham used to be the location of RAF Greenham Common and later US Air Force base during the Cold War. After many years the infamous base was then turned back into public land in the 2000s. Redevelopment works have kickstarted over the last few years with new commercial buildings being built. Calco was responsible for the construction of the new £1.7M building that would house a number of arts and craft installations.

Calco needed a lift at The Base, Greenham that would connect the ground floor where the café and main gallery is located with artist's individual small galleries on 1st floor. The building has an industrial appearance throughout its structure with individual caged artist studios, exposed concrete blocks and no suspended ceilings. The lift cabin features white panelled walls with a half height mirror opposite the lift doors. These features attract light into the lift cabin making the space feel larger than it is. The lift has sliding doors on each floor and is finished with plastic coated steelwork. The advantage of plastic coated steel on an installation like this is that it is less likely to smudge compared with brushed or polished stainless steel. In commercial buildings such as The Base, Greenham with many daily visitors, fingerprints can cause greasy marks and can quickly make the lift look unclean.

The lift installation was finished in time for The Base's grand opening in February 2019.

The Newt in Somerset

Hadspen House was built in the late 17th century and is situated in East Somerset. The Grade II* listed building has undergone many transformations in its time and now the main house as well as the surrounding outbuildings and lodges have been renovated into a luxury country hotel. The Newt in Somerset boasts 35 rooms from converted stable blocks to a loft in the main house. In addition to the rooms, there are a number of other attractions on the estate. The spa is located a short walk up the driveway from the main house. It features various treatment rooms, a pool and even a mud chamber. The restaurant, attached to the main house, features a complete sloped glass ceiling combining the original Georgian house with state of the art modern style. It serves food from their kitchen garden which you can see while enjoying breakfast, lunch or dinner. They even produce venison from the estate's deer park, making sure as much produce as possible is gathered from the local area. The estate also features 3000 strong apple tree orchards with its very own cider press where guests can see the whole process from pressing the apples to enjoying the cider.

The client needed two lifts for The Newt in Somerset, the first a goods lift which would be used to ferry items from the kitchen on the ground floor up into the rest of the hotel as well as take deliveries. This one tonne goods lift was finished with brushed stainless steel walls and ceilings to match the kitchen surfaces. The second, an antique passenger lift that would provide access for guests across the 3 floors of the hotel. The client had a very specific vision having purchased the stripped down panelling of a 19th century mahogany lift from an antique shop. They wanted a lift that would be befitting of the hotel and vice versa. Our task was to use as much of the original materials as possible whilst adapting the panelling into a completely new lift layout. The antique panelling was then fitted onto a modern hydraulic lift. We even managed to keep the original operating instructions, original brass push buttons, original green leather seat and the 19th century brass R. Waygood & Co sign.

Below are a number of photos of the antique passenger lift at The Newt in Somerset.

Hidden Traversing Lift at Sissinghurst Castle Garden

We were approached by a representative of the National Trust as they were looking for a way for less-able visitors to access the lower level of the shop at Sissinghurst Castle Garden. Sissinghurst Castle Garden was bought by the writer Vita Sackville-West and her husband Harold Nicolson in 1930, with various buildings around the site dating back to the 1530s. Sackville-West and Nicolson restored many of the buildings and designed the layout and style of the now famous gardens. It is one of the National Trust's most visited sites and one of the world's most well known gardens. Due to their cultural significance and high quality the gardens are Grade I listed along with the main Sissinghurst Castle building.

The site of the lift is in the modern day shop which used to be the Old Piggery attached to the granary. The particular challenges of creating disabled access in the shop were that a ramp would have to be over 4.5 metres long plus a 1.5 metre clear space at the bottom of the ramp in order to accommodate the difference between floor levels. This wasn't feasible as the total width of the lower floor was under 4 metres. A traditional platform lift would take up at least 1400mm x 1100mm of retail space and then a 900mm door on both levels would impact the retail space even further. This would have disrupted both the till area and lower level of the shop. Even though it was feasible the disruption and the space that the lift would take up would damage the retail space for the shop.

The best solution was to have a hidden platform lift by the steps in the middle of the shop that wouldn't need any gates. The lift would provide the necessary disabled access but when not in use it would be completely flat matching the surrounding quarry tile floor. The way the lift recedes into the ground allows users to get onto the lift from both sides of the shop and allows the shop staff to have a seasonal table close to the lift as seen in the photos below. When not in use the lift can be walked on and becomes part of the floor.

To see more examples hidden lifts like the one at Sissinghurst Castle Garden click on the following links:

200 Grays Inn Road | Devonshire Club | Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art | 24 Chiswell Street | Venture House

To see more examples of our work in listed buildings click on the following links:

British Library | York Theatre Royal | Dancing Man Brewery | National Theatre | Hotel du Vin Poole

Marine Platform Lift for Ribs

Making boats accessible has proven difficult in the past, in particular smaller and private vessels. The main challenges that these projects face are: 1. function 2. materials 3. aesthetics. Our marine platform lifts look to tackle these challenges and create products that stand up to the hostile marine environment and look great.

Nowadays most platform lifts work perfectly fine (on land) however couple that with the motion of the tide or swell and being fixed into a glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) boat hull they can quickly become ineffective. The greatest challenge that marine lifts face is seawater. If a product is not designed with this in mind corrosion and pitting corrosion can cause complete product failure. That's why every part and material we use is researched in order to see how it copes in a saltwater environment as well as how they interact with each other over time. All steelwork for our marine platform lifts is made out of 316L marine-grade stainless steel, this prevents rusting over time and allows our products to withstand the harsh saltwater environment. Depending on the likelihood of coming into contact with saltwater, the metalwork can undergo a range of metal treatments on top of being made out of marine-grade stainless steel. For example if a boat is a leisure cruiser on a freshwater body such as a lake then the likelihood of rusting is greatly reduced compared to a high speed rib that's going to be used at sea. For this particular project, the lift underwent a number of metal treatments due to the location of the lift at the front of the boat and the type of boat. The high speed nature of the rib would lead to more saltwater breaking over the hull and coming into contact with the lift.

We tailor make all of our marine platform lifts to the client's specifications, this includes the look and finishes used on the lift. For ribs and speedboats original teak decking can be used so that the lift blends into the rest of the deck. A number of metal finishes are available for any exposed metalwork including mirrored finishes as seen on the detachable handrails for this project. We also use rubber and neoprene for safety edges and protective borders to prevent scratching of both the lift and boat.

This project was similar in design to our previous project for a speedboat (you can view that project by clicking here) however it posed a number of unique challenges. As the boat was a rib, any lift would have to be considerably lighter so not to weigh it down and affect overall performance. The position of the lift at the front of the boat could affect the drive of the boat, particularly at high speed and with very little room to work in the lift would have to be fixed to the GRP hull rather than structural steelwork.

We also created a bespoke ramp that changes into steps when needed. This allows any wheelchair users as well as other guests to easily board and disembark the rib. Both parts, the marine platform lift and ramp were finished with teak (as seen in the video and photos below) to match the rest of the deck and create a beautifully finished product.

Platform Lift in Wagamama Wigmore Street

Quadrant Design, an architectural practice based in Reading, were in charge of designing the layout of a new Wagamama restaurant on Wigmore Street in central London. Wagamama is a popular Japanese restaurant with over 130 locations in the UK and a total of over 190 worldwide. Wigmore Street runs parallel to Oxford Street with Regent's Park to the north and Hyde Park to the south-west. Its central location means there is a large collection of restaurants supplying both offices and tourists alike. Quadrant are specialists in restaurant design having created restaurants for the likes of Pizza Express, Tortilla and Coppa Club. Quadrant needed a way for wheelchair using customers to get from the entrance at street level down to the main restaurant area, 660mm lower. We met with the architect and site manager at Wagamama, Wigmore Street to discuss the aesthetic they were looking for and how this could be achieved.

The platform lift at Wagamama Wigmore Street would be replacing a pre-existing ramp. As we've found with several restaurants there is a conflict between whether to go for a lift or a ramp. Ramps are usually more affordable however they take up table space and so limit the amount of covers the restaurant can have at any one time. This then impacts the long term profitability of the restaurant. The architect decided that the lift would be the better option. The overall footprint of the lift is 1350mm x 1700mm, which equals 2.23m². On the other hand a DDA compliant ramp with a rise of 635mm would have a footprint of nearly 15.5m². Comparing the restaurant before and after refurbishment, the surplus space equates to at least 20 covers. This shows how a lift can maximise a restaurant's potential and boost its overall profits. The lift's platform measure 1100mm x 1400m with glass doors and panels on all 4 sides to match the modern aesthetic of the restaurant. The metalwork was finished in the same dark grey used in the rest of the restaurant. The lift was installed in time for Wagamama Wigmore Street's grand opening.

To see some of our projects that are similar to Wagamama Wigmore Street click on the following links:
Devonshire Club | Cheltenham Racecourse | Hotel du Vin Poole | Audi Northampton | Sissinghurst Castle Garden

Hotel du Vin Poole

Hotel du Vin is a boutique hotel chain with 19 locations covering England and Scotland. As the title suggests the chain was founded with wine at the heart of its business. Hotel du Vin Poole is situated in Poole Old Town tucked away from the quay opposite St James' Church. The original building dates back to 1776 as the Mansion House, Hotel du Vin have then refurbished the site retaining many of the original features. The front entrance of the property is raised from street level and then once inside the property the property is split. The reception is on the upper ground level whilst the restaurant, bar and wine tasting area is on the lower ground floor. Both of these levels are separated via stone staircases therefore having a complete access route at the front of the building would prove difficult and costly. In addition any modifications to the front of the building would also have to meet the requirements of Historic England as the building is Grade II* listed.

The solution to creating the best possible access route into the building for disabled guests was to use the street level to the side of the building. This then leads into the side of restaurant. From the restaurant, disabled guests can access both the bar and outdoor seating area. The platform of the lift measures 1100mm x 1400mm with a rated load of 300kg. This means that it can take even the heaviest of electric buggies. The lift in the restaurant allows guests to access all of what Hotel du Vin Poole has to offer. In addition the hotel has accessible rooms behind the restaurant at street level.

Projects

Highcliffe

For more information about lifts like the one above call us on 0800 65 252 65 or email us

Sovereign House

For more information about lifts like the one above call us on 0800 65 252 65 or email us

Bexhill-on-Sea

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The Swan at Streatley

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The Base at Greenham

For more information about lifts like the one above call us on 0800 65 252 65 or email us

The Newt in Somerset

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Hidden Traversing Lift at Sissinghurst Castle Garden

For more information about lifts like the one above call us on 0800 65 252 65, email us or click here to be taken to our hidden lifts page

Marine Platform Lift for Ribs

For more information about lifts like the one above call us on 0800 65 252 65 or email us

Platform Lift in Wagamama Wigmore Street

For more information about lifts like the one above call us on 0800 65 252 65 or email us

Hotel du Vin Poole

For more information about lifts like the ones featured above call us on 0800 65 252 65 or email us