By James L. Harter, Sr., AIA
Senior Staff Architect
Buchart-Horn/BASCO Associates

A prepackaged, exterior two-story elevator compliments the facade of the existing building. Please click on the image above to see a larger version in a new window.

Whatever the project, Buchart-Horn/BASCO Associates (BH/BA) goes all the way to provide its clients with cost-effective, innovative means to solve problems without reinventing the wheel.

BH/BA's client, Harrisburg International Airport, wanted to upgrade its 208 Building for ADA accessibility. This required, among other things, an elevator to service the top floor to the two-story building that was to be occupied by the State Forestry Department.

BH/BA knew of a company in Illinois that manufactures complete package elevators for two-story buildings. The container arrived on a flatbed truck and was lifted by a crane into position. Placing an elevator on the outside of an existing building eliminates demolition inside the building and does not disrupt the structural integrity of the floors and roof.

The package comes with a finished cab, doors, structural frame and insulated skin along with the hydraulic lifting apparatus. The general contractor must provide space inside the existing building for the equipment.

Outside the building, the contractor provides the foundation, the finish on the exterior (to match the remainder of the building), a roof on the shaft and must demolish the existing exterior walls on both floors to access the elevators to the structure. In this particular instance, an existing window on each level was enlarged into an opening to expose the elevator doors.

The general contractor, after he completed his work, referred to the whole package as "one slick trick" The two-story elevator is also the first of its kind installed in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Editor's note: With more than 40 years experience, Mr. Harter joined BASCO Associates as Director of Architecture in November 1994. He retired to Florida on September 2, 1999.