Everyday ups and downs: experiences of vertical mobility in London

电梯极大地改变了垂直移动的速度和距离;如果没有电梯，就不会有今天城市景观中建筑物的高度、深度和体积。然而，探索垂直移动性的研究非常有限，这归因于对水平移动性的压倒性重视，以及对电梯和自动扶梯的普遍理解只是普通的基础设施（Thill等人，2011）。这个项目将通过开发一个跨学科的垂直流动性调查，利用我们在伦敦日常垂直空间中使用和体验垂直交通的特殊方式来解决这一研究不足的问题。从垂直的大众住宅，到再生住宅项目、办公楼开发、酒店和消费空间，伦敦已经看到了垂直形式的转变，以及城市高层建筑数量的急剧增加。在此背景下，研究将突出不同类型的垂直交通的社会空间特殊性，采取五个城市的垂直断面：住宅电梯（在社会住房街区和“精英”私人住宅），办公电梯，苍鹭大厦的玻璃升降机，和buildingmaintenance gondola，垂直运输高层建筑的窗户清洁剂。通过这些类型学，将注意力放在互动，破坏和脆弱性的想法上，同时更根本地关注垂直空间如何在特定环境中导航。该项目的相关性源于其致力于在住房、工作和建筑空间特定方面的服务/维护的背景下看待交通和流动性。拟议的项目将以定性为基础，结合民族志/参与者观察，与电梯使用者的访谈，以及与建筑/工程领域的专业人士的访谈，以及高层窗户清洁工的访谈。在这样做时，它将跨越专业界限，从而创造知识交流，最大限度地发挥经济和社会影响。

The lift has dramatically altered mobility networks in the speed and distance that can be travelledvertically; without the lift, there would not be the height, depth, and volume of buildings in today's urbanlandscapes. Yet, research exploring vertical mobility is highly limited, which is attributable to anoverwhelming emphasis on horizontal mobility, and the widespread understanding of lifts and escalatorsas only mundane infrastructures (Thill et al, 2011). This project will address this lack of research bydeveloping an interdisciplinary investigation of vertical mobility, drawing on the particular ways we useand experience vertical transport in the everyday vertical spaces of London. From vertical mass housing,to regeneration housing projects, office developments, hotels and spaces of consumption, London hasseen a shift in forms of verticality, as well as a dramatic increase in the number of high-rise buildings inthe city. Within this context, the research will highlight the socio-spatial particularities of verticalisedtransport across different typologies by taking five vertical transects of the city: residential lifts (in socialhousing blocks and "elite" private residential dwellings), office lifts, Heron Tower's glass lift, and buildingmaintenance gondolas, which vertically transport window cleaners of high-rise buildings. Through thesetypologies, attention will be paid to ideas of interaction, disruption, and vulnerability, whilst morefundamentally looking at how vertical space is navigated in particular contexts. The project's relevanceemerges from its commitment to looking at transport and mobility within the context of housing, work,and the service/maintenance of particular aspects of architectural space. The proposed project will bequalitatively based, incorporating ethnography/participant observation, interviews with lift users, andinterviews with professionals in the fields of architecture/engineering, alongside high-rise windowcleaners. In so doing, it will work across professional boundaries, thus creating knowledge exchange tomaximise economic and social impact.