Spanish architect Carles Enrich designed a perforated brick elevator that connects one side of a town to the other. As cities develop and expand, sometimes a divide develops between older and newer neighborhoods. This architect wanted to reunite a fractured Spanish city by making it more accessible.
Enrich's elevator is located next to a Catalonian cliffside in the Gironella municipality of Spain. The elevator helps to connect the old part of the town to the more modernized neighborhoods that lie on the other side of the Llobregat river. The elevator is designed to overcome issues of accessibility, which have generated social fracture over the years. The elevator itself is made from perforated brick and stands 16 meters tall. The perforations in the exterior allow natural light and fresh air to pass through the elevator carriage.
Enrich's elevator is part of a larger movement to improve connectivity in cities across Europe.
Perforated Brick Elevators
This Elevator Helps Connect the Old and New Parts of a Spanish Town
Trend Themes
1. Urban Connectivity - Architects and urban planners are increasingly focused on connecting different neighborhoods within a city to break down social fractures, and this trend could lead to innovative approaches like the use of elevators made from unexpected materials.
2. Perforated Building Materials - The use of perforated building materials in architecture has the potential to create unique designs that allow for natural light and air to pass through, and this could lead to innovative and sustainable buildings that use fewer resources.
3. Smart Elevator Technology - As elevators become a more ubiquitous part of urban design, the use of smart technology could improve the efficiency of elevators, minimize wait times, and remove bottlenecks to transport in rapidly-developing urban centers.
Industry Implications
1. Architecture - This field is poised to benefit from the trend towards developing novel and innovative approaches to urban connectivity, and architects could look at using nontraditional materials or creating designs that prioritize vertical integration to address social fractures.
2. Construction - The construction industry could take advantage of the trend towards using perforated building materials by investing in research and development to create new products and techniques that utilize the advantages of these materials.
3. Urban Planning - Urban planners have an important role to play in facilitating connectivity within cities, and the development of 'smart cities' that leverage technology and data to improve public transport could be key strategies for addressing social fractures and improving overall quality of life in cities.