Elevators are generally an under-used design space, with the vast majority of them retaining a functional, box-and-button style that offer little in the way of visual appeal. Luckily however, there are some who recognize the potential of this little room-on-the-move, and get as creative with the humble elevator as they would with any other space!
We here at Bored Panda celebrate these out-of-the-box thinkers, and have compiled a list of the coolest, craziest and cleverest elevators out there. From aquariums and shuffle buttons to scary floor designs, this list is sure to uplift you! Scroll down below to check them out for yourself, and don't forget to upvote your favorites!
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The Elevator Ride At The World Trade Center Tour Shows You The Architectural History Of New York
This Elevator Is Out Of Service
Creative Poster Placement
Aquarium Elevator In Berlin, Germany
This Elevator With An Additional Alarm Button Near The Ground In Case You Can’t Get Up
This Elevator Sign
This Elevator Has Buttons You Can Kick
Winter Wonderland Inside Of An Elevator
Came Across One Of The Most Fun Elevators I've Ever Seen
This Centre For Long Term Ill Elders Redesigned Their Elevators To Create Less Anxiety And Avoid Patients Running Away
Older people or more like the ones who have problems with their memory, suffer from Alzheimer's, etc., might get easily confused, forget where they are, wander away without actually wanting to. Having the elevators disguised prevents that.
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Several years ago very early in the morning when I was leaving for work, I noticed an elderly woman sitting on a bench right in front of our apartment. She was dressed in a nightgown, bathrobe and rubber boots. She seemed to try to gather herself up or try to keep a calm demeanor. I knew right away that something was off - I had never seen her before, so I guessed that she was not living in the same building. I carefully walked over to her and said "good morning". That was all. Immediately she responded in a very rude manner that she was waiting for her son to pick her up. I was a bit annoyed about her rude way and tone of answering that I decided to directly ask where she thought she was. That question may have brought her back to her current situation and she visibly got very frightened and I think she also panicked. She was mumbling things about her life, past and present, but I did not listen because I was focusing on calling 112 (our emergency number). I stayed until help arrived.
And yes, she did not recognize her surroundings. She did not know how long she had been sitting outside (thank goodness it was in the middle of summer, if she had spent the night there), and she was living about 2 kilometers away in her own home. Hopefully from that point on she got more supervised help.
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What a fantastic idea having worked in a dementia facility this really makes sense. Well done!
I think so too. Elevators are intimidating (to ME anyway) and I'm not afflicted with dementia. I love the way these look so cozy and "ordinary".
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In the nursing home where my granny (who has Alzheimers's) lives there is a number lock on the door. It asks what is the current year backwards. So for this year the code is 8102. People with Alzheimer's or other memory problems usually do not know what year it is so no one has escaped that place yet.
What a fantastic idea having worked in a dementia facility this really makes sense. Well done.
Great idea. I should print this out and take it around our nursing homes. So soothing to look at.
I would be lost for hours up there looking for the elevator
This is to camouflage the elevators, so that dementia patients don’t accidentally get out. This is a common safety practice, for their safety.
And I like the update on the elevators. Looks much friendlier than those shiny silver doors. Less intimidating, to me anyways. I've never liked elevators.
My Meme got both early onset dementia and Alzheimers after she retired. We took care of her at my Mom's house. Mom worked from home, so I was there during the day and her husband was there to help at night. They had to hide the car keys because she kept trying to sneak off and go back home to her parents (who passed away many, many years ago). There were times she thought she was very young and had broken curfew so she needed to get home. It broke our hearts when we had to explain to her why she couldn't go back. We took care of her the best we could for 3 years. She slowly forgot who everyone was, where she was, she even forgot how to read. I was there for her every day, and at the end of the day I would go home (I lived right next door) and cry. Because we lost a little bit more of her every day. But I wouldn't have changed it for anything. In my family, we take care of our own. Mom did have to put 2-way deadbolts on the doors though, so Meme wouldn't wander off into the woods.
One thing advised for carers of Alzheimer's sufferers is to put a blanket over doors, because they see a door and think they have to/want to go through it, regardless of where it is.
I can definitely see the benefit. I wouldn't go toward something grey with a big, scary STOP sign on the right. I'm not sure I would want to walk behind a book case either but the idea is strong and mentally good. I like it. :)
well, even though it seems quite a good idea, it is not allowed in Germany, unless a judge has committed all patients to be in a closed facility.
I was shot in the head 20 years ago and am on ALOT of medication. So even though I am 44, I can relate to these dementia patients. It's like when you go to the store and when you put your stuff in front of the cashier, realizing you forgot to bring ANY source of payment, even though you did a mental check before leaving the house.
Aaaand there they died when they couldn't find the f*****g elevators when the fire broke out..
You're not supposed to use elevators in the event of a fire though...
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I like the idea except if there were to be a fire. . . the window that shows where the stairs are is even painted over. . .
Do we have to be old and/or demented to have ALL elevators painted this way?
Steam Powered Elevator, St Petersburg, Russia
Elevator Floor Painting
How Accurate Is This Elevator Claim?
Fancy Elevator With Seats Inside
My Hotel In Odessa (Ukraine) Tells You Which Day It Is By Changing The Elevator Carpet Every Day
A lot of cruise ships do this - vacation makes it hard to remember. That, or all the little drinks with umbrellas....
The Colorful Button Panel On The Elevators Of Our Children’s Hospital
This Elevator Has A Call Button 30 Ft Away So The Doors Will Be Open By The Time You Get To Them.
The Elevators In My Office Building Have An Umbrella Sign That Lights Up If It's Raining Outside (Osaka, Japan)
So many questions! The office has no windows? The ride down is slower than the change of weather? People get to feel reassured faster that they brought an umbrella or frustrated that they didn't? Why???
This Elevator Shows How Close To Capacity It Is Based On The Weight Of The Riders
I’m so fat when I walked in front of the tv my sister missed 3 episodes of her favorite show fuller house
This Elevator Door...
Interesting signage on the left near the buttons - "UP" says "Adderall, Ritalin, Cocaine". "DOWN" says "Xanax, Valium, Percocet".
Now That's One Ingenious And Well-Placed Movie Poster
This Elevator Wants You To Do Your Math
The Twilight Zone In East Hotel Elevator
This Elevator Has A Shuffle Button
Some Slick Bastard Defaced This Elevator
This Elevator Is Worthy
Hanging On To Dear Life On The Elevator Shaft
Elevators In The Mercedes-Benz Museum In Stuttgart
Up We Go. Industry City Elevator Art
Fun Way To Decorate Elevator's Door
Elevator Looking Like An Old Bathroom
My Elevator Has An Infinity Button
This Fairytale Winter Decoration In An Elevator
Interesting Capsule Elevator In Terminal 2 Of Taoyuan International Airport
Colorful Balloon-Filled Elevator
Jump
The Mac Dad will make you! Daddy Mac will make you! Kris Kross will make you!
Only just found out why elevators have mirrored walls ( tbh never really thought about it much), it is so people in wheelchairs can see when the doors open it is actually a standard in their design
I did not know that either. And I am in a wheelchair. Did not think about it also. I always turn around in the elevator (after checking my make-up and hair for a few seconds lol) so I am facing the doors and 'drive' out more easily. Or when the elevator is crowded I 'drive' in backwards to begin with. So for me the mirror is just for checking how I look (as much people who can walk use it for also)
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None of these are design “solutions”. They’re funny, but misleading title.
Any idea that helps soothe the claustrophobic and people afraid of heights is a nice welcome. As long as it is under 10 flights and I have no baggage, I take the stairs. BUT, my mom doesn't like elevators for the above mentioned reasons and at 73, she is not able to run the stairs like she could before. I think all the ideas are welcome. It makes something that might be scary, FUN. And Taa-Daa, before you know it, you are at your desination..... The 3rd floor. :) A GREAT idea. Two thumbs UP! :) :)
I've been stuck in a freight elevator at work on a Saturday 4 feet off the ground I can see out of the small, rectangle window in the outer doors. I used the phone and reached the state police. They called my boss, who wasn't answering and the fire department, the elevator dude and my wife at work and the TV news. Kidding about the news. 4 hours and the elevator guy finally showed and told me how to release the pin, and my arm got greased up to where it hooks into my shoulder. I got out and the boss, who by then had shown up to see where the hell I was, told me to take the rest of the day off. Monday at work, I was the talk of the building. It was freaky and I was unsteady when I got out but recovered quickly with a cold beer.
My favourite elevator was the NY one that shows you the buildup of the city over the years. It must have been an extraordinary cost but they did it anyway, nice.
There use to be a Warner Bros. store on Fifth Ave in NYC. Three stories. The elevator was a glass one right on the corner of the building. As it rose up to the other floors, Superman appeared, seeming to fly the elevator up. Sadly I don't think it's there anymore.
ME,? I JUST WANT TO GET TO MY FLOOR AND GET THE HECK OUT OF THESE WEIRD CONTRAPTIONS.
Only just found out why elevators have mirrored walls ( tbh never really thought about it much), it is so people in wheelchairs can see when the doors open it is actually a standard in their design
I did not know that either. And I am in a wheelchair. Did not think about it also. I always turn around in the elevator (after checking my make-up and hair for a few seconds lol) so I am facing the doors and 'drive' out more easily. Or when the elevator is crowded I 'drive' in backwards to begin with. So for me the mirror is just for checking how I look (as much people who can walk use it for also)
Load More Replies... None of these are design “solutions”. They’re funny, but misleading title.
Any idea that helps soothe the claustrophobic and people afraid of heights is a nice welcome. As long as it is under 10 flights and I have no baggage, I take the stairs. BUT, my mom doesn't like elevators for the above mentioned reasons and at 73, she is not able to run the stairs like she could before. I think all the ideas are welcome. It makes something that might be scary, FUN. And Taa-Daa, before you know it, you are at your desination..... The 3rd floor. :) A GREAT idea. Two thumbs UP! :) :)
I've been stuck in a freight elevator at work on a Saturday 4 feet off the ground I can see out of the small, rectangle window in the outer doors. I used the phone and reached the state police. They called my boss, who wasn't answering and the fire department, the elevator dude and my wife at work and the TV news. Kidding about the news. 4 hours and the elevator guy finally showed and told me how to release the pin, and my arm got greased up to where it hooks into my shoulder. I got out and the boss, who by then had shown up to see where the hell I was, told me to take the rest of the day off. Monday at work, I was the talk of the building. It was freaky and I was unsteady when I got out but recovered quickly with a cold beer.
My favourite elevator was the NY one that shows you the buildup of the city over the years. It must have been an extraordinary cost but they did it anyway, nice.
There use to be a Warner Bros. store on Fifth Ave in NYC. Three stories. The elevator was a glass one right on the corner of the building. As it rose up to the other floors, Superman appeared, seeming to fly the elevator up. Sadly I don't think it's there anymore.
ME,? I JUST WANT TO GET TO MY FLOOR AND GET THE HECK OUT OF THESE WEIRD CONTRAPTIONS.
