Project Description

Instructed by Gerald Eve, the facility managers of 25 -35 Park Lane, LECS UK was appointed the independent engineering consultants for a key vertical transportation project at this prestigious London address.

The London property at 25 – 35 Park Lane is a busy office environment, with several businesses operating from the premises. The lift engineering project involved the re-assessment of six lifts that are integral to the workings of the six-floor landmark building as they were proving unreliable and, on occasion, hampering traffic flow throughout the building.

Amanda Fairfowl of Gerald Eve, said: “We have a long relationship with LECS UK and value their professional advice for both consultancy and project management of the lifts in the building.”

LECS UK carried out full condition surveys of existing lifts, considered the option of a full replacement of all the lifts or embarking on a more conservative refurbishment programme. For a number of key reasons, LECS (UK) advised that the lifts be refurbished.

Taking the building design into consideration, there was limited access available – just one entry via the main foyer – so a replacement programme would have involved serious disruption to users within the working building.

A refurbishment programme would avoid much of this disruption while also be more environmentally sound – limiting the amount of waste material that would be generated from a replacement project. In addition, the refurbishment approach would be financially more economical too.

Lee Dean, LECS UK explained: “Having surveyed and analysed the current lift solution , we determined that the originally installed mechanical packages were of good enough quality to retain.. Major components such as controllers, hoisting machines, doors, entrance running equipment, lift interiors should be replaced for new. Most importantly, replacing these major components would not affect the fabric of the building or require additional building work and would still achieve the desired outcomes.

SPECIFICATION

LECS UK developed the technical specification and the tender document. The refurbishment specification also included replacing and upgrading the door mechanics. Crucially this was achieved without taking the entrance frames away. Retaining the frames avoided the need for any building work and associated mess and disruption. Allowing the building and its occupants to carry on as normal.

TENDER

LECS UK issued the tender to four lift contractors and awarded the contract to Crest Lifts. Lee Dean was the principle designer and engineer at LECS UK who oversaw the project.

PROJECT PLANNING

There were four main passenger duplex lifts – two at 24 Park Lane and two at 35 Park Lane. The work was arranged in two phases. Phase one involved one lift in each building being refurbished simultaneously. Phase two covered the other two lifts – one in each building, this allowed one lift to remain in service in each building at all times. Work on the project started in March 2019 and finished ahead of schedule in February 2020.

RESULTS

The result of the entire project was a range of improvements. Firstly, reliability of the lifts was assured. In addition, the refurbishment shortened the flight time of the lift. This increased traffic flow and improved the overall traffic handling capabilities of the lifts. The overall look and feel of the lifts has been transformed too.

Amanda Fairfowl of Gerald Eve, said “We are pleased with the entire project that was professionally managed by LECS UK. LECS UK’s advice and management of this project was invaluable.”

Please feel free to contact us to discuss any of your vertical transportation projects.