Source: Werner Huber (2025, 10. Juli). Zweimal das Gleiche ganz anders [Publireportage]. Berner Kulturagenda – BKA Magazin.
A building is like a living organism: it changes and adapts to evolving needs. Unlike a human being, whose life cycle is bound by nature, a building’s transformation can be actively shaped — infused with new life again and again. Even heritage-listed buildings are not preserved under a metaphorical glass dome; they, too, must remain open to change. It is the cultural and architectural responsibility of clients, architects, heritage conservation authorities, officials, and involved companies to enable such transformation with sensitivity and care.
This is especially true when installing an elevator in a historic building — a process that can all too easily result in the irreversible loss of historic fabric. That’s why careful planning and collaboration with locally rooted companies are so crucial — companies that strive for more than just implementing global standard solutions. Two examples demonstrate this approach using elevator systems created by the Bern-based family business Emch.
The Abbatiale du Domaine de Bellelay in the Bernese Jura, first mentioned in 1141, traces its origins to Siginand, the provost of Moutier-Grandval. In 1714, the abbey church was constructed based on plans by Vorarlberg architect Franz Beer; two decades later, the monastery buildings followed. When French troops occupied the abbey in 1797, the monastery was dissolved and the church secularized. At the end of the 19th century, the Canton of Bern acquired the complex and established an asylum for the mentally ill.
The residential building at Spitalackerstrasse 60 in Bern is much younger: architect and master builder Antonio Perello constructed it in 1906 as part of a row of five houses. A few years earlier, the newly built Kornhaus Bridge had turned the Breitenrain district into an attractive residential area. The house reflects this shift: the façade features exposed brickwork and decorative sandstone elements, highlighted by a cylindrical bay balcony. Inside, high ceilings with ornamental plasterwork and parquet floors evoke the spirit of the Belle Époque. Over the decades, kitchens and bathrooms were repeatedly updated, but overall, the building has remained largely in its original condition.
The existing takes precedence
As generous and light-filled as the rooms in the house on Spitalackerstrasse may be, the circulation space is extremely limited: a steep, narrow staircase coils its way upward around a small central opening. When a full renovation of the building was planned, one thing was immediately clear: the house needed an elevator. However, the installation of a lift often leads to a complete redesign of the staircase — a major intervention that significantly alters both the building’s fabric and its floor plan. This is often justified as a “technical necessity” — but more often than not, it’s the wrong approach.
When working with historic structures, we bear a special responsibility toward the achievements of those who came before us. Building culture also means not building — it means preserving, extending, and carefully continuing what already exists. Whether a building is centuries old or only a few years past completion makes no difference: respect for the existing should always serve as the guiding principle. The architects of the Bern-based collective Werkgruppe agw, who oversaw the renovation of the house on Spitalackerstrasse, exemplify this mindset. They found a location for the elevator that allowed all apartments to be accessed with only minimal intervention in the existing structure.
Care and technical expertise
The task was the same in the north tower of the Abbey Church in Bellelay: to install an elevator. For years, the church had served as a venue for cultural events. On the occasion of its 300th anniversary, all levels were to be made accessible — including for people with disabilities. The wide central void of the historic wooden staircase in the north tower made it the ideal location: it offered enough space for an elevator and required only minimal intervention in the existing structure — a proven solution. Architect Henri Mollet from Biel, working with the engineers at Emch Aufzüge, designed a support structure made of steel profiles. Freestanding within the stairwell, it is connected to the tower’s masonry only at a few points by slender rods. Thanks to this design, the elevator remains visually transparent, preserving the spatial character of the tower. And should needs change in the future, the lift can be removed at any time without causing significant damage — this reversibility is a crucial principle in the treatment of heritage architecture.
Back in Bern, at Spitalackerstrasse, the architects had identified a location where the elevator could be discreetly integrated. Space, however, was extremely limited. A concrete shaft was not an option. So the engineers at Emch applied the same approach as in Bellelay: a delicate steel framework. To prevent noise transmission, the lift stands freely, touching the walls only at a few points. Thanks to the lightweight steel construction, this solution, too, is fully reversible. Now, both buildings are prepared for the decades ahead. How the next generation will judge these interventions, we cannot know. But their verdict is unlikely to be harsh — because today’s generation has fulfilled its architectural and cultural responsibility to the historic fabric.