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The 16th arrondissement between the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower and the Bois de Boulogne is one of the most distinguished quarters of Paris. Opposite the city centre, the terrain is slightly elevated, so you can enjoy a beautiful view over the city – if you are lucky enough to be able to use a roof terrace. A private restaurant where a company receives its major clients is almost as high up. Overlooked by a glass dome, the guests dine on the 8th floor just above the rooftops of Paris. Almost at the top, but not quite.
But now, after the entrées, main course, cheese and dessert, the hosts can lead their customers to the perfect conclusion of their culinary journey: the roof. Unsus-pectingly, they enter the dark cabin of a glass lift. At the push of a button, the glass cabin starts moving upwards to the end of the shaft - and beyond. After a short ride the shaft cover opens, the lift cabin pier-ices the roof surface and comes to a halt level with the roof terrace. The doors open silently, and suddenly the pas-sengers are standing on the terrace in the sky of Paris. While they admire the Eiffel Tower, the Tour Montparnasse or the Sac-ré- Coeur and the host pours champagne, the lift withdraws. The doors close, the cabin goes back into the shaft and the lid folds shut, as if there had never been a lift.
Refined technique
This lift, which rises from the roof surface like a Jack-in-the-Box, is called a Rooftop Lift. It is a product from the development department of EMCH Aufzüge, manufactured in the Bernese factory. Two parts are essential for the construction: the hydraulic drive, which is guided as a backpack on the cabin, and the telescopically extendable rails. Similar to a drawer in the horizontal plane, the rails here rise vertically for the last two metres into the sky and provide the lift cabin with support. The roof flap closes off the shaft at the top and protects it from the weather. To prevent anyone from standing on the lid when the cabin is raised, a surrounding glass parapet with a sliding door closes off the shaft area. This ensures that no one comes into contact with the moving parts. As exclusive as this lift is, it complies with French and European regulations for facilities open to the public and for people with reduced mobility.
EMCH used the completion of the plant in Paris' 'Seizième' as an opportunity to officially open its French subsidiary. Bernhard Emch and the new Managing Director of EMCH Ascenseurs France SA, Mirsad Mustafic, toasted this event with a glass of champagne.
The call for more
“That’s what I want, too!” is what many a building owner will be saying now. And even if the rooftop lifts are not yet whistling from every rooftop, there are interesting projects in progress at EMCH. The Sorbonne in Paris and the Casino in Monaco are two dazzling names, and there are also projects in Switzerland. The most recent order is the rooftop lift for the new Uecht Observatory in Niedermuhlern, Bern. The architect here is none other than Mario Botta.
