Before this shopping center was repainted white, it had a much more interesting red and blue design. For example, the escalators used to have red handrails. The pillars that extend all the way from the rooftop to the bottom were also painted red, as well as the elevator shaft structure. In contrast to that, the elevator cab frames were painted blue. Also, the cabs used to have mirrors attached to the bottom, but those are gone.
The cabs have quite a unique design, using as much glass as possible. They are illuminated by neon lights that are mounted in front of the cab, but they were turned off at the time the video was taken. The shaft and cab buttons are touch sensitive and hidden behind glass. The elevators are rather fast, and level quickly, but their speed is noticeably uneven, which makes for a bouncy ride.
When Samsung opened an outlet store at the top floor a few years ago, the left elevator was converted to an express elevator that only stops at the basement level, ground level, and the top floor. As that store is now gone, it instead stops one floor below the top level. The right elevator still serves all floors, but was broken at the time of filming, and it is doubtful it will ever work again because the whole building is due to be torn down.
The Zeilgalerie is a very unique shopping center because it is a tall and narrow structure. There are no floors in the conventional sense because the center mainly consists of a walkway spiraling around an atrium which houses the escalators and elevators. Also, the escalators are not arranged in the usual criss-cross style. Instead, they form two paths spawning the entire atrium. This means that a few escalators are placed in a row from one end of the atrium to the other, where one can turn around and continue going up or down on another chain of escalators.
However, this unique layout is also the reason that especially the top levels of the Zeilgalerie are by now mostly dead. Apparently, not many people were willing to go all the way to those levels, or to wait for the busy scenic elevators and then stop quite a few times on the way. There are also conventional elevators, but they are somewhat hidden in a side corridor. Also, due to the narrow structure, the shops can only have a fairly limited size.
Technical specifications:
Brand: Otis (modernized by Kone)
Capacity: 630kg / ~1390lbs / 8 people
Type: traction (bottom drive, 1:1 transmission)
Year built: 1991
Travel distance: 10 floors
7 фев 2016
