Yes that’s a serious question! The paternoster lift is a special kind of lift that has no doors and moves up and down the building shaft on a continuous loop. Named after the Lord’s Prayer, you can only fit one or two passengers inside each cabin and they’re thought to be highly efficient; if not dangerous. Paternoster lifts are kind of dumbwaiters for people when you think about it! Passengers must pay close attention when stepping on and off as there’s a real chance of endangering yourself and causing severe injuries and even death. Being in a paternoster is no time to start checking your tweets!
Paternoster lifts are banned in many countries due to safety concerns, but there are some working ones that you can find. Germany outlawed the construction of new paternosters in 1974 but remaining paternoster lifts are still operational; it seems nostalgia as well as a taste for adventure are keeping the unusual lifts alive. However, there’s one paternoster lift a little closer to home in the Arts Tower of the University of Sheffield.
Here at Sheridan Lifts, we see safety and security as our number one priority when completing any kind of lift installation and a lift without door just screams health and safety red tape and concerns to us!
As a lift company we wouldn’t feel comfortable installing this kind of lift even if they weren’t banned! We’ll stick to other kind of bespoke and energy efficient lifts, as well as our dumbwaiters – used strictly for food and small cargo of course!