Elevator - only in building with 6 or more floors?

 

It occurred to me while looking at the elevator installation standards in the Korean Building Code (KBC), so I'll summarize it briefly.

 

Article 64 of the KBC sets forth the installation standards for elevators as follows.

 

1) To construct a building with more than 6 floors and a total floor area of 2,000 square meters or more, an elevator must be installed. However, buildings with six floors and one or more direct access points installed within 300 square meters of the floor area of the living room on each floor are excluded. The size and structure of the elevator are [see Annex Table 1-2 of the Rules for Building Equipment Standards, etc., Note 1].

2) Buildings exceeding 31 meters in height must additionally install a firefighters elevator (emergency elevator).

3) In high-rise buildings (over 30 stories or over 120m in height), at least one passenger elevator installed in the building must be installed as an evacuation elevator.

 

Why is it mandatory to install elevators only in buildings with 6 or more floors?

 

I've thought it was like that for a very long time. So, buildings built in Korea in the past were usually five stories or less. Most of the Housing Corporation's  Apartments were five-story buildings without elevators. When a law is made, changes at the boundary point are inevitable... but many buildings now install elevators, even if they are two-story buildings. Of course, there are cases where it is installed for the disabled, but in order to guarantee the right of movement and access (Note 2) for the disabled or the elderly, elevators are installed at the cost of increased costs. The reality is that our country's aging population is accelerating, and the buildings and facilities built in the past do not have adequate means of transportation, causing many inconveniences to the movement of the disabled and the elderly. Even if it is not about the right of movement or right of access, I think that the elevator installation standard of “buildings with 6 stories or more” that was stipulated a long time ago should be lowered at least a little or revised to buildings with 2 stories or more. It is said that even famous historical sites such as the Colosseum have installed elevators for the disabled and the elderly. Elevator manufacturers must also develop and distribute economical elevators suitable for residential or low-rise use.

 

Also, I see that houses with elevators are still classified as luxury single-family homes, but this also needs to be addressed. (Small elevators (under 200 kg) installed are not classified as luxury single-family homes -> It is correct to call them residential elevators. Note 4)). This is because elevators should now be recognized as universal convenience facilities for the disabled and the elderly, rather than the rare and expensive mechanical equipment of the past.

 

Although this is a story from the past (around 2001), in Japan, a project to install elevators in low-rise apartment complexes was actively carried out. This is a facility where the structure that integrates the steel hoistway structure and elevator on the exterior wall of an apartment complex is transported all at once on a large trailer and attached to the exterior wall, and the elevator installation is completed within approximately one week. However, the process of transporting large-scale equipment in a small, complex city center was difficult and expensive, so it was not completely successful.

(Modular (staircase type) elevator installation in progress, Hyundai Elevator, 2001)

 

One more thing, according to the rules on Korean building equipment standards, etc., when calculating the number of elevators, it is stipulated that an elevator with 8 to 15 persons is regarded as one elevator, and an elevator with 16 or more persons is regarded as two elevators. As of March 23, 2019, the weight of one person was changed from 65 kg to 75 kg, and the number of passengers by capacity was changed. Therefore, the manufacturer changed the previous 17-persons (1,150kg) to 15-persons (1,150kg) as the per-person weight changed, and is responding to this law by developing a 16-persons (1,200kg). This is a phenomenon that occurred because the law was defined as a human numbers. For example, in the Koeran Housing Act [Regarding Housing Construction Standards, etc.], there is less confusion if the regulations are defined by weight, as in [Regulations, Note 3]. And why is it 1 unit for 15 or less passengers and 2 units for 16 or more passengers? I was wondering if the KBC knew that the 15-persons with a capacity of 1000kg changed to a 13-persons due to the change in weight per person.

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Note 1)
■ Rules regarding facility standards for buildings, etc. [Appendix 1-2]

Installation standards for passenger elevators (related to the text of Article 5)
Total living area on the 6th                                        floor or more Use of the building		Less than 3,000 square meters	Exceeding 3 thousand square meters
1.	A.  Cultural and assembly facilities (only applicable to performance halls, assembly halls, and viewing halls) B. Sales facilities.  C. Medical facilities	2 units	2 units plus 1 unit for every 2,000 square meters exceeding 3,000 square meters
2.	A. Cultural and assembly facilities (only applicable to exhibition halls and zoological and botanical  gardens)  B. Business facilities.  C. Accommodation D. Recreational facilities	1unit	1 unit plus 1 unit for every 2,000 square meters exceeding 3,000 square meters
3.	A. Apartment house  B. Educational research facilities.  C. Facilities for the elderly and young people.  D. Other facilities	1unit	1 unit plus 1 unit for every 3,000 square meters exceeding 3,000 square meters
Remarks  1. When calculating the number of elevators according to the table above, elevators with a capacity of 8 to 15 passengers are regarded as one elevator, and elevators with a seating capacity of 16 or more are regarded as two elevators. 2. In cases where the use of a building is mixed, the installation standards for passenger elevators shall be in accordance with the following classifications. A. When the uses of two or more buildings fall under the same category according to the table above: Considering that the buildings correspond to one use, the number of passenger elevators that must be installed is calculated based on the total living area of the 6th floor or more. me.  B. When the uses of two or more buildings fall under two or more categories according to the table above: The smaller number of the number of passenger elevators calculated according to the following standards  1) The number of passenger elevators calculated by adding up the number of passenger elevators calculated according to the use of each building. In this case, if the purpose of two or more buildings falls under the same category, the number of passenger elevators is calculated according to (A).  2) The number calculated by applying the strongest standard among the passenger elevator installation standards for each building use, based on the combined area of all living areas on the 6th floor or higher for each building use.
※ [Article 5 (Standards for installation of passenger elevators)]... When adding one floor to a building where a passenger elevator is installed, the hoistway of the passenger elevator may not be extended and installed.

Note 2) The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities defines the concept of "right of access for persons with disabilities" as 'to enable persons with disabilities to live independently and fully participate in all areas of life, in both urban and rural areas on an equal basis with others. Transportation, information and communication skills

take appropriate measures to ensure access to information and communication, including systems and other facilities and services open or provided to the public.' (Article 9, Paragraph 1)

 

Note 3) Article 15 of the Regulations on Housing Construction Standards, etc. (Elevators, etc.)

① In apartment buildings with 6 or more floors, passenger elevators with a capacity of 6 or more persons per unit must be installed in accordance with the standards prescribed by the Ordinance of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. However, this does not apply to apartment complexes falling under the provisions of Article 89 of the Enforcement Decree of the Building Act.

② In the case of an apartment building with more than 10 floors, the passenger elevator in Paragraph 1 must be structured as an emergency elevator.

③   Apartments with more than 10 floors must be equipped with a cargo elevator that meets the following standards to transport moving items, etc.

1. The loading load must be 0.9 tons or more.

2. The width of the elevator or one side of the width must be 1.35 meters or more and the other side must be 1.6 meters or more.

3. In the case of a staircase-type apartment complex, it must be installed in each staircase.

4. In a hallway-type apartment complex, it must be installed in each staircase. In this case, one unit shall be installed for up to 100 households, but if the number exceeds 100 households, one additional unit shall be installed for every 100 households.

④ Passenger elevators or non-use elevators pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 1 or 2 that meet the standards of each item of paragraph 3 may be used concurrently as cargo elevators.

⑤  Article 64 of the Building Act applies mutatis mutandis to the structure of passenger elevators, emergency elevators, and freight elevators and the structure of their platforms under the provisions of paragraphs 1 to 3.

 

Note 4) Residential elevator (Enforcement Rules of the Elevator Safety Management Act): An elevator manufactured and installed suitable for transportation of residents of singlefamily homes in accordance with Item 1, Item 1 of Annex 1 of the Building Act Enforcement Decree, and a residential elevator (elevator) with a round-trip travel distance of 12 meters or less.

Safety standard terminology: Installed to drive a car for transporting residents of a single-family home to a designated platform along a driving guide rail inclined less than 15° relative to the vertical, for a single-family home with a rated speed of 0.25 ㎧ or less and a traveling height of 12 m or less. Applies to installed elevators.

Remarks: Residential elevators do not include freight elevators

 

2024.2.4. 
(c) 칠보 (chillbo)

 

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