Vote for the world’s greatest elevator ride. The contenders include:
John Portman’s spectacular scenic hotel rides; a James Bond style
elevator at the Mercedes Museum; a Chinese cliff face elevator; the
construction workers’ elevator on the Burj Dubai, which is twice as
high as the Empire State building; the elevator which climbs through
the center of the giant Berlin Sea life aquarium and an enormous,
futuristic elevator for boats in Scotland. My personal favorite is the
elevator at the Mole in Turin which has a unique history.
The difference in height between two canals
in Scotland was too great for a lock to be practical. Although not the
only one of its kind, this elevator which lifts entire canal barges is
one of the few where an attempt was taken to make it a piece of
architecture rather than purely an engineering exercise.
Until very recently the CN tower was the
worlds largest structure, and with an external high speed elevator it
is a must in this list.
Very few glass elevators on the side of
skyscrapers come close to the thrill of this ride up a cliff side in
the Chinese province of Hunan. The Tolkienesque nature of the landscape
is, in of itself, a marvel.
IM Pei’s Pyramid entrance to the Louvre, in
Paris, is the inspiration behind Apple’s flagship store in New York, it
features a very interesting hydraulic elevator that is an open top
cylinder which slides within a spiral stair exit. While not
particularly exhilarating the effect is very sick.
There is nothing like the thrill of
ascending an 800 foot erector set to appreciate what climbing very high
up feels like. The 2 stage Eiffel tower elevator is the best theme park
ride of all time.
Berlin’s Sea Life has to be the world’s most
spectacular aquarium, rising as a giant multi-storey glass cylinder
within an atrium. Even more sensational is that fact that an elevator
runs through the center of the donut section of the tank to create an
utterly surreal ride, as this video shows.
The Top of the Rock offers a much better
view of New York that the Empire State building, since you get to see
the Empire State building, and with half the wait time. One of its
showpiece features is a glass topped elevator, so that you can
appreciate just how dramatic an elevator shaft running nearly a hundred
floors, can be, without having to be Bruce Willis.
La Defense is the financial center of Paris,
a place where modern architecture is allowed to let rip and build high,
without disturbing the 19th Century core. Its centerpiece is an arch
which is (almost) aligned with the Arc de Triomphe, and through its
hollow center runs a high tech elevator engineered by the legendary
Peter Rice.
This may not be a great video, but the St.
Louis Arch elevator is worth a mention. It consists of futuristic all
white interior pods and a bizarre parabolic path within the arch
itself.
Given that the Burj Dubai is staggeringly
tall, pretty much the height of two Empire State Buildings on top of
each other, and given that bird cage construction workers elevators are
pretty scary at the best of times, this has to be one of the best rides
on the planet.
The Taipei tower is a horrible piece of
architecture, a 100 floor high edifice with the same aesthetic
proposition as an illuminated waterfall picture in a cheap take out
restaurant. The elevator ride is nevertheless truly impressive and
staggeringly fast, as this video of the animated progress indicator
within the car shows.
Elevator cars tend to all look the same, and
when they are pods, they tend to be light garlanded christmas tree
kitsch. Not so at the Mercedes museum, which has a truly magnificently
designed elevator system.
Somehow, Richard Rogers managed to persuade
one of the most conservative organizations in the world to commission
one of the most extravagant pieces of architecture. An insurance
underwriters housed in a giant stainless steel clad oil refinery that
became a hallmark of London’s financial renaissance during the 80’s. It
still looks more modern that the more recent icon, the rather
simplistic ‘gherkin’ and the elevator rides, while not the highest or
fastest in the world, are a majestic piece of architectural drama.
The Mode Antonelliana is an icon of Turin, a
former Synagog that survived a plane crash into its top, the building
had to be shorn up with giant concrete supports after it was shown to
be structurally unsound. As a result, the huge interior space cannot
support very much, so pretty much the only thing rising through it are
the 4 wires supporting the elevator which pops through a square hole in
the floor and ceiling as it passes between basement and viewing
balcony.
The Skylon tower may not be as large as the
similar CN tower, but it makes up for it with the stomach churning view
of millions of gallons of water disappearing into the abyss below it.
John Portman is the Elvis of architecture,
over the top, but so accomplished a showman that his work is worth
seeing regardless. His trademark is a giant atrium with scenic
elevators passing through it.
