With the gradual aging of the population in China, the barrier free design of elevators has received more and more attention. The decline in physical function of the elderly is evident in their vision, muscle control, and sense of balance. As they age, especially for those who cannot walk independently, elevators are becoming increasingly their only and important means of transportation.

With the rapid development of modern elderly care models and the continuous improvement of humanized demands, the architectural design of elderly care institutions increasingly focuses on the development of accessible design. Elevators are an important part of ensuring barrier free access for people with limited mobility in high-rise buildings. The design of elevators and elevator lobbies greatly affects the convenience of elevator use. At the same time, the use of wheelchairs and emergency stretchers also poses special requirements for the size and detail design of elevators and elevator lobbies.

Based on the "Design of Residential Buildings for the Elderly" standard and the barrier free design of elevators, combined with the research and investigation of He Rui experts, He Rui Elderly Care has summarized the following design criteria.

1、 Design principles of accessible elevators

1. Security

Elevator design should not only ensure basic safety, but also effectively avoid various injuries that may occur due to improper operation. Therefore, reasonable elevator space and size must be required to facilitate flexible turning of wheelchairs.

2. Applicability

The comfort and correctness of elevators are key demands of the public. To ensure harmonious coexistence between the environment, elevators, and people, important information can be displayed through multiple channels, such as overweight alert sounds, color and voice prompts upon arrival at the floor.

In addition, relevant designs should be made for special groups of people, such as wheelchair users. The height of elevator buttons should be increased in addition to the regular height, and buttons suitable for wheelchair users to operate should be added.

3. Usability

The design of elevators should be based on the importance of information, providing information to users in order of priority. For example, the color and shape of the elevator floor should be different from that of the waiting hall, and the floor selection button of the elevator should be different from the switch button.

2、 Basic principles for the design of residential buildings for the elderly

Elevator.

1. When installing elevators in public buildings, accessible elevators must be installed.

2. The accessibility facilities and design requirements of the waiting hall shall comply with the provisions in the table below.

    3. The accessible design of the elevator car should meet the requirements in the table below.

(Barrier free design inside elevator car)

3、 Elevator and stretcher size

After investigation and research, He Rui found that the minimum size of the stretcher elevator car can be 1500mm × 1600mm. The shovel stretcher size suitable for common elevators is 400mm × 1850mm.

(Research on stretcher and elevator car dimensions)

   (Improved shovel stretcher)

(Realistic picture of shovel stretcher in elevator)

4、 Elevator type that can accommodate stretchers

'Can accommodate stretchers' does not necessarily mean that medical stretchers must be equipped. The ideas for ordinary housing elevators that can accommodate stretchers include: renovating stretchers; Utilize the diagonal of the elevator car; Widen the elevator door or offset the opening of the elevator door.

The common types of elevators that can accommodate elevators are mainly divided into the following four categories:

1. Large depth elevator car:

2. Large width elevator car:

3. Square shaped elevator car:

4. Backpack type elevator car:

5、 Elevator car floor

Elevator floor refers to the decorative material laid on the bottom of the elevator car. Depending on the type of elevator demand, different types of floors are selected. The following discussion will focus on the design of accessible elevator floors for elderly care institutions.

1. Floor material

(1) PVC plastic flooring

PVC plastic flooring refers to Jiate flooring produced using polyvinyl chloride material. It is a lightweight ground decoration material that mainly has energy-saving, environmentally friendly, durable, and beautiful effects. It is also one of the materials selected for anti slip flooring.

(PVC plastic elevator floor design)

(2) Floor mat

A floor mat is a flooring product that can effectively scrape away mud, dust, and moisture at the entrance and keep indoor floors clean and tidy. At the same time, the foot feels comfortable and the sound insulation effect is excellent.

(Elevator floor mat design)

(3) Marble flooring

Marble flooring is made by firing clay, which is physically stable, resistant to pressure and wear, has a meticulous structure, and does not deform for a long time.

(Design of marble floor elevator)

2. Floor pattern

The elevator floor pattern mainly focuses on two aspects: color tone and graphics. Considering the pathological characteristics of the decline in discernment ability of the elderly, the color tone and graphics of the elevator car floor and the waiting hall floor should be distinguished to enable the elderly to enter and exit the elevator clearly.

(1) Color tone

Due to visual impairment and insensitivity to indoor light, it is difficult to distinguish small things. According to the research results of LIXIL company in Japan, the overall indoor illumination that makes the elderly feel comfortable is about 50-250 lux (lx), which is about 1.5 times that of young people. So the lighting level of the elevator in the senior apartment is slightly higher than that of a regular restaurant.

(The left image shows common elevator color tones; the right image shows warm elevator color tones)

(2) Graphics

The elevator floor adopts colors and graphics that are relatively contrasting and stable with the waiting hall, creating a clear contrast at the interface junction. By changing the color tone and graphics of the elevator floor and waiting hall, the boundaries of the floor can be distinguished, making it easier for users to enter and exit the elevator.

(Inconsistent design between elevator car floor and waiting hall floor)

6、 Summary

In this article, Harmony Elderly Care is based on the design principles of accessible elevators. By summarizing the design specifications and precautions of accessible elevators, and combining them with the special physiological needs of the elderly, the design requirements of accessible elevators in elderly care buildings are systematically elaborated from standardized implementation to detailed design.

As an important means of transportation for the elderly, elevators not only need to meet their daily travel and emergency needs, but also should consider the special usage needs of the elderly under different physical conditions, highlight humanized detail services, ensure that elevators can provide safer services for the elderly's travel, and create a more convenient and comfortable travel experience for the elderly and those with limited mobility.