Forbes-Ergas Design Associates Transforms Building with Modern Lift Installation

Kevin McGowan, Principal, Forbes-Ergas Design Associates

The Rutherford co-op at 230 E. 15th St. had to decide how to make its lobby ADA compliant. The building has several steps outside leading from the sidewalk to the entrance door, and past the vestibule there are three additional steps going up to the elevator landing. What the board had in mind was adding a ramp, because it felt that would be the most affordable. The other opinion was installing a lift, which it felt would be bulky and cumbersome. 

Multiple drawbacks. The problem was that there wasn't enough space between the front of the vestibule and the steps leading up to the elevator to install a ramp. In order to make a ramp work, it would have to curve around into the body of the lobby area. However, “the lobby is sunken, so you would actually be adding additional steps, which would require making the ramp even longer and the installation even more complicated,” says Kevin McGowan, a principal at Forbes-Ergas Design Associates. “Also, the facade of the lobby is all glass from floor to ceiling, and looking in from the outside you would see this big winding ramp, which would certainly not be aesthetically pleasing.”

Getting practical. McGowan proposed installing a lift instead. The sidewalk outside the building is sloped, so when facing the building, there are three outdoor steps on the left side going up to the vestibule. But on the right side, the sidewalk is level with the lobby floor. McGowan determined that a secondary sliding door could be installed there, which would eliminate the need for a lift or ramp on the exterior of the building. He also discovered that he could break through the wall on the left side of the lobby and put in a lift, which would take people to the mail room, and from there to the elevator bank. 

“So with minimal effort, we could install a lift with its own street entrance that is sort of hidden from view, so it doesn’t impact the aesthetics of the new design,” he explains. “We did have to raise the sunken part of the lobby in order to make the lift work. So if you are coming in from the  right side, you’re not taking three steps down into the lobby. But everything looks more balanced.”

Top of the line. There was some resistance from board members, who were envisioning a big, clunky, cumbersome lift. McGowan found a very modern-looking lift with a glass facade that did not look like it belonged in a warehouse or commercial facility, and was also very quiet when operating. “I would call it the Rolls Royce of lifts,” he says. Since the lobby needed additional package storage, a cabinet was built on the lift’s left side to obscure it from view for people coming in from the main entrance. “Between all of those factors, we were able to take a normally unattractive product and make it very residential and high end,” McGowan explains. 

At your service. As for entering the new door from the street — both for ADA compliance and for people with packages or strollers — every resident will have a key fob. The door will remain locked at all times, so it will not automatically open when somebody walks by it. If a resident doesn't have their key fob, the doorman will be able to push a button at the front desk that will open the door; if somebody is leaving the building that needs help, he can open it for them as well. “This was a full-gut renovation that had a lot of moving parts,” McGowan says. “But it all came together in the end.