Case Study Royal Entomological Society  - A Case Study - the Bug Job Amalgamated Lifts takes lift design and build to a new level with the delivery of a totally custom built lift for the Royal Entomological Society Headquarters. Having relocated to new premises in the historic Mansion House in St Albans the Society was keen to add a lift to provide disabled visitors with access throughout the building over its three floors. The Society houses research and periodicals in a number of libraries and has many and frequent visitors.  From a technical and compliance perspective both the engineering design and deployment into a stairwell with the space constraints of this beautiful old building was challenging. Absolutely no space around the outside of the lift car was available and the lift had to extend into the eaves of the building roof.  Amalgamated Lifts' design engineering team utilised a direct acting hydraulic ram arrangement with a bore hole to free up as much space as possible for the lift car. The unique design meant the lift car and sling had to be custom built. Computer modelling techniques were used to help the client envisage and agree the finished look and feel of the completed lift The 8-person lift was specifically designed to capture the essence of the Society, its internal walls are decorated with stunning photography of a variety of insect life including ladybirds, mayflies and butterflies. Very early on the project affectionately became known as 'the bug job'. Few lift companies have the capability to design and implement a bespoke lift from concept to completion; either because they don't have the design engineering skills or relish the complexities of such projects. The biggest challenge initially was finding a location for the lift. Having studied the building structurally, extensive surveys were necessary to establish where the lift would fit and comply with legal requirements.  Using Solidworks software computer modelling techniques the designers were able to find a site, with sufficient clearance, by taking the lift into the eaves of the building.  This meant demolishing a kitchen and opening up an old stairwell to create enough space to accommodate the 8 person lift, the minimum lift size to comply with DDA requirements. The design stage took about a month, where simplicity was paramount in providing the most efficient solution possible. Over the next three months a programme of extensive buildings works ensued. To maximise the space available a direct-acting borehole hydraulic system was implemented underneath the lift.  While you would normally drill down to accommodate the hydraulics the second challenge arose as it soon became evident that the building was in fact sitting on almost solid granite.  Impossible to drill, the only option was to dig out the 2m wide by 3m deep pit by hand. For sufficient clearance it was necessary to extend the lift shaft into the roof space, which had to be fireproofed. Further building work involved supporting brickwork and fitting an additional RSJ to existing shaft walls, building a new motor room in the basement and providing support to the ground floor. A hole was cut in exterior walls to put in the lift guides in through the shaft wall. New entrances were created on each level of access, over three floors, and cosmetic modifications of the building were made so that aesthetically it looked as if the lift had always been there. The finishing touch was the inclusion of fantastic insect photography on the walls of the lift car capturing the essence of the Society. Finally ahead putting into service the lift was thoroughly tested in accordance with EN81, Lifts Directive1995 requiring two days of testing to check all safety components and devices all hydraulic system, valve, locks, buffers, safety gear, and appropriate clearances to check not only that they work but the correct parts have been installed.  The lift was completed on time and on budget. The whole project took 6 months and was managed by Keith Stockbridge, Major Works Manager and was overseen by Brian Appleby, Project Manager. Following building works two engineers installed the hydraulics with additional engineers to fit out the lift cars. Amalgamated Lifts continues to maintain the lift which hasn't had a single failure since commissioning - we all like a happy ending.