Stannah shortlisted in Project of the Year for Big Ben lifts

Stannah, a leading UK lift supplier, has been shortlisted in Building Magazine’s prestigious Small Project of the Year (up to £5m) Award, for the lift solution supplied to Grade I Listed Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben) restoration project. 

This recognition highlights Stannah’s ability to provide safe, step-free, and sustainable lift access solutions in all types of buildings, including historic, heritage, and Grade I listed buildings.

The Building Awards celebrate remarkable projects that demonstrate outstanding teamwork and collaboration, innovation, and sustainable practices. Stannah’s lift solution at Elizabeth Tower met these criteria, resulting in a shortlisting for the final.

The winners of the Small Project of the Year Award will be announced at the upcoming awards ceremony, which will take place in person at the Grosvenor House Hotel on 5th November.

Big Ben at the Houses of Parliament, completed in 1859, was designed by Augustus Pugin in a Perpendicular Gothic Revival style. The clock tower was then renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012 in honour of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee. At 96 metres tall, and the climb from ground level to the belfry being 334 steps in a spiral staircase, maintenance teams found it extremely difficult to access Big Ben for regular maintenance and even more challenging when replacing heavy parts or transporting equipment.

You can read about the project in detail by clicking here.

‘Proud and honoured’

David Saunders, Head of Major Projects Division at Stannah Lifts, says: “We are incredibly proud and honoured to be shortlisted for the Small Project of the Year Award. Being shortlisted for this award is a testament to the entire project team’s hard work, creativity and dedication to providing lift solutions that not only meet the needs of our clients and the project but contributes to safe working.

“This was a challenging project because of the Grade I Listing, Central London location and the slight lean. The fact that it now provides step-free access for the maintenance team is an engineering marvel that the Victorians would have been proud of.”

The Stannah Major Projects Division’s role in the Elizabeth Tower Lift Project included detailed manufacturing design of the lift and platform, installation, commissioning, and lift warranty maintenance.

Sir Robert McAlpine Special Projects (SRM), was appointed main contractor for the restoration of the iconic building. The complex and precise engineering of the lift project required close collaboration between Stannah and SVM Associates (SVMA), an independent lift consulting engineering firm that has overseen lifts on behalf of Parliament’s Strategic Estates since 2013.

Stannah Lifts is excited to be among the finalists and looks forward to celebrating excellence in construction at the awards ceremony.

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