What to Consider for a Fancy Elevator Cab Design?
Elevators made our lives easier in the last century and helped us to construct better, taller, and more luxurious buildings. Today, tall buildings are the indicators of modern city landscapes. In the close past, many people hadn’t experienced an elevator ride in their lives, but today, they became an ordinary element of daily life.
According to the statistics, billions of people use elevators a year safely. It is because of the developing standards and rules that are valid throughout the world. Elevator design is a very important task that should be in hands of professionals. But, other than necessity, people would like to spend more joyful time on elevator rides when compared to the past.
Although an elevator system contains so many elevator components, the passengers see only the elevator cabins. For more joyful experiences, elevator cab design becomes very crucial. The elevator cabin is the showroom of an elevator system and reflects the beauty of not just the lift, but also how fancy that building is. So today, we will talk about what to care about designing an elevator cabin.
Interior Design of Elevator Cabins
There are many different choices and materials for the interior elevator cabin design. The key factor about the materials is the usability and not using any material that can endanger safety. Today, the most preferred two materials that are used in cabin design are stainless steel and glass. But, according to elevator cabin design standards (EN 81-20), any material that is durable and inflammable can be chosen for cabins.
The glass cabin design is very useful and fancy, especially for exterior and mall elevators. As they provide a decorative look and a wide view, they are widely used in modern constructions. And there are two types of glass cabins; full glass panels and framed glass panels.
Full glass panels provide a wonderful and fancy look, but there are many challenges to deal with. As they are whole parts, the joints of the panels are the key points. These parts must be very strong and durable against vibrations and forces during the acceleration and deceleration of the cabin. Another issue with these cabins is the placement of the handrails. Handrails are essential for accessibility, and they are generally mounted to the floor in a full glass panel cabin design. All of these result that full glass panels are not preferred for elevator systems that are faster than 3,5 m/s.
On the other hand, framed glass panels are easier to construct and are much more durable than full glass. In both cases, the glass should be laminated and the thickness should be marked on it.
So, what other materials can we use for the elevator cabin design? Actually, all types of composite materials that provide durability and inflammability criteria are proper for elevator cars. Other than stainless steel, plexiglass, and other plastic or acrylic materials are new trends for cabin design.
What are the Issues to Consider in Elevator Cab Design?
There are many different choices and issues for custom elevator cabin design. We can talk about these issues under these features;
Weight
Regardless of how fancy a cabin design is, the total weight of the cabin is the most crucial factor to consider. The weight standards are defined with the calculation of the maximum capacity and ride comfort criteria. Especially, stone decoration materials are very heavy and important factors to consider.
Functionality
In most cases, crucial parts that require regular maintenance (such as lighting or ventilation) are placed under decorative elements in order to provide beauty. But this is a nightmare when a problem occurs or during maintenance. So, designers should pay attention to placing these elements in proper places that maintenance guys can reach easily. Otherwise, maintenance may not be possible without giving big and costly harm.
Handrails
As we have mentioned above, handrails are very important for accessibility or wheelchair elevators. So, the criteria for handrails are very strict and clear on standards. As they are very visible inside the cabin, designers should carefully and fancifully add them to elevator cabins.
Labor Quality
New technology elevators, such as high-speed elevators, are always subject to great directional forces during their movements. So, structural elements that connected each other from joints suffer these forces which may result in undesired noises that come from friction. Labor quality shows its effects here. High-quality materials may turn into the garbage if low-quality labor makes the construction.
Mirrors
Mirrors are very successful to create a wider feeling in elevator cabins. But these mirrors can create a real danger for the passengers in case of real emergencies. Normal mirrors can create many sharp pieces when they are broken. So, the elevator cab design should use laminated or acrylic materials for mirrors.
Although elevator cabins seem like little cubic spaces, it is possible to create a great piece of art with a wise design. You can check our website for wonderful elevator cabin design types.

ISF Elevator – Content Producer