Dotted around Brussels are several buildings housing historic lifts. It was feared the imposed modernisation of all Belgian lifts would see the end of them, but adapted guidelines will now ensure that they are safely preserved.
New solutions have been developed to modernise pre-1958 lifts, many of them architectural gems, while respecting both their heritage value and safety. These will provide clarity for owners and occupants of buildings with such historic machinery in the capital, who were long left in the dark about the future of the lifts.
Originally, regulations stated that lifts constructed before 1 January 1958 had to be modernised before 31 December 2022 at the latest. However, some feared that this would damage their historical, aesthetic and technical properties.
Two years ago, Pascal Smet, former State Secretary for Heritage, started working with Economy Minister Pierre-Yves Dermagne to revise the legislation, resulting in the deadline for modernisation being postponed by five years.
Recognising historic lifts
A new category of 'historic lifts' was included in the amended royal decree, giving owners of historic lifts across the country until the end of 2027 to make the necessary modifications. The Brussels-Capital Region alone has already awarded nearly 400 certificates for historic lifts.
"The postponement was much needed to find suitable alternative solutions that reconcile strict safety regulations with the preservation of heritage value," said Dermagne. "Without the intervention, countless historic lifts would have disappeared or been rebuilt beyond recognition by now."
Credit: Belga / Nils Quintellier
Over the past year, several working groups, composed of Federal Government departments, external technical control departments, the industry and regional heritage departments, have been considering alternative rules for modernising lifts with heritage value.
The working groups have now suggested relaxing the generally applicable guidelines for historically valuable lifts with open shafts to avoid contact with a moving part of the lift.
This includes ensuring a person cannot get trapped between the two doors of an old lift by installing a physical system and adjusting the speed of the lift to ensure stopping distance.
