The site and its levels
Photographs, location plan, available section, levels, walls, terraces and features to preserve.
Owners / clients / designers
Prepare a private funicular or inclined-lift project.
With or without an architect, a few well-chosen details can explain the route, intended use and principal interfaces before a more detailed study begins.
Begin with the needLevels to connect, intended users and the journeys that must actually work.
Use available documentsPhotographs, older plans and approximate dimensions may be enough to begin.
Coordinate progressivelyThe owner, designer and contractors share the same assumptions at the right time.
First project review
A simple file can already reveal the right questions.
The starting point does not have to be an architect’s drawing. A general view of the site, photographs taken from the lower and upper levels, the points to connect and a description of daily journeys already provide a useful basis.
Where an architect, project manager or engineer is involved, this information may be complemented by a site plan, section, levels and constraints from other work packages. F. Labbé can then qualify a principle and identify what still needs to be surveyed, without turning an early sketch into a technical promise. The page on hillside access solutions helps distinguish the different families of equipment.
Useful information
Four groups of information for the first discussion.
You do not need to wait for construction drawings. Documents should above all be clear, dated and consistent with one another.
The intended route
Departure and arrival points, possible stations, and the journeys before and after the inclined section.
Intended use
Users, frequency, luggage or objects, accessibility expectations and operating conditions.
Construction context
Access, neighbours, possible lifting methods, other contractors, programme and current project stage.
From need to drawing
Turn assumptions into information that can be coordinated.
A section establishes the general geometry. Studies then define the route, stations, footprint, supports, clearances, protection and connections with finished levels. The drawing becomes a shared document for the owner, designer, workshop and site team.
This progression is essential in a bespoke project. It allows routes to be compared, associated works to be identified and the effect of a change to be understood before manufacturing.
Initial geometry
Read the gradient without mistaking it for a feasibility study.
The calculation uses horizontal distance and vertical rise to estimate the angle, gradient percentage and geometric length of a direct route. The full-page slope calculator then identifies subjects that still require survey and bespoke study.
18°
approximately 33% gradient
- Horizontal distance
- 24 m
- Vertical rise
- 8 m
- Geometric length
- 25.3 m
Actual geometryGradient changes, curves and finished levels
StationsSpace, access, doors and building connections
StructureSupports, foundations and ground interfaces
OperationUsers, environment, water and maintenance
Progressive definition
Move from need to a coordinated, manufacturable solution.
Qualify the principle
Compare possible routes, intended use and the major site constraints.
Survey and define
Confirm geometry, footprint and the information needed to define the equipment.
Fix the interfaces
Coordinate stations, structure, finished levels, power, water and technical access.
Prepare manufacture and installation
Validate documents, access, sequencing, protection and the conditions for site work.
Documentation and references
Verify the framework for the installation actually designed.
The familiar name of a solution does not classify the equipment. Its use, technology, environment and operation determine which texts, processes and verifications must be examined with the competent project parties.
Discuss the project / first review
Describe the site before choosing the solution.
A few simple details are enough to understand the journey and prepare a useful first discussion.
Useful first documents
- Photographs from the bottom and top
- Levels to connect and intended use
- Any available plan, section or survey