Solar powered elevator at the Duke of York for wheelchair users by Matthew Lloyd

You’ll come across quite a lot of stuff to make your eyebrows disappear into your hairline at the London Festival of Architecture. One of these awesome creations is a eco-friendly elevator, developed by Matthew Lloyd. This innovative contraption uses water and solar power to lift wheelchair users up the stairs of the Duke of York, near the Institute of Contemporary Arts. Weighing three tons, this structure is made of Perspex and steel. To power up, two solar panels atop the contraption juice the sun, while water weights are used to counterbalance the elevator car.

Around $15,000 was donated by the festival for this project, inspired by the creator’s wheelchair-impaired father. Launched last week by Will Alsop, the elevator at first received a cold shoulder, taken that the steps are a protected site. That was soon taken care of though, making the Duke of York now accessible to people using wheelchairs. Three cheers for Matthew Lloyd’s green elevator!
[fastcompany]