For the lazy man, escalators are a godsend. But they’re limited to straight lines or minor curves, which means they can’t go past a certain size before they stop working. Israeli design Michel David has completely changed that by designing the Helixator, a helix-shaped escalator that uses monorail technology to break through height and length barriers.
In an interview with The Engineer, David explained how the Helixator works:
‘Traditional curved escalator designs comprise multiple rails from both sides of the steps and have to be supported by complex and heavy structures. The monorail solution allows us to concentrate all necessary rails in one central and light structure.’
Essentially what that means is that the Helixator is able to ferry more people in a small vertical space than an elevator system, and completely eliminates the whole issue of waiting for a lift.
At the moment, there are only scale models of the Helixator available, with the cost of implementation being one of the difficulties in rolling it out. But with demand for different and unique architectural designs all over the world, it’s only a matter of time before the Helixator becomes a real installation. And on that day, we’ll ride the helix all the way to the top.
Helixator from Michel David on Vimeo.