Office Buildings from the Bottom Up

The building system most subject to abusive comment by occupants is the lift installation. For most, the lift service impact is in the area between the main entry lobby and each particular working level. Basements are considered commonly as an appendage, and often provide a means of cost cutting at the design stage, when the lift provision to them is reduced to the minimum allowable by regulation. The purpose of this paper is to investigate basement requirements in typical office buildings, to indicate where the lift design often does not meet them, and where the overall system can be affected by the basement service.