During the BAU 2007, among others, Meiller Aufzugtüren GmbH from Munich was honoured with the 5th Architecture and Building Innovation Award for the OPTILIGHT® automatic elevator door system. The prize, presented by the architecture trade magazines AIT, ABIT and Intelligente Architektur, is awarded for products of high architectural quality. Representatives from renowned architecture offices evaluate the products suggested for awarding. During the award ceremony, the jury emphasized the successful orientation of the innovative Meiller product development on the demand for pioneering architecture.
The OPTILIGHT® product is a technically sophisticated system consisting of light sources and structured light deflection zones that are integrated in the glass composite in elevator doors. The light is refracted, guided or reflected in part using laser irradiation or by modifying the material structure, e. g., through etching or engraving the pane material. As a consequence, architects and designers are provided with countless facilities for creative design of shaft and cabin elevator- doors with light effects.
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The exhibit honoured by the jury is equipped with two digital, capacitive sensor light-buttons that are arranged laterally in the door portal, protected from soiling and vandalism behind a 16 mm thick laminated safety glass pane. The elevator user selects the desired direction of travel of the elevator by briefly touching the glass surface. Two running lights made of arrow-shape arranged shining LED’s in the glass door leaf simultaneously make the desired direction visible. The electrical supply is provided by nearly invisible conductor paths on the glass. As soon as the car reaches the fl oor, the running light switches over to continuous operation and all 5 direction arrows shine simultaneously. The red illuminated glass closing edge in the opening cabin door changes to green, indicating that the elevator can be safely entered or exited. Before closing, the green illuminated closing edges switch to red, informing the user that the closing sequence is starting, then carried out under a red flashing light. With this award, the jury paid tribute to the implementation of innovative engineering in applications that make sense to the elevator users.
The trade fair visitors were able to realistically test the award-winning Meiller product live at the VDMA elevator industry’s mutual stand (hall C1). The highgrade, transparent elevator-door portal with its striking, capacitive signalling to the passengers while the doors are opening and closing – a highlight during the special exhibition in the truest sense of the word.
The professional dissertations from Meiller on the topic of elevator doors and glasselevators during the forum in hall C3 also met with intense interest.
The innovation prize award endorses Meiller’s efforts towards consequent and continuous development of architecturerelevant quality products and is an incentive for even more innovations.
The jury for the 5th Architecture and Building Innovation Award:
Grad. eng. Ludwig Kindelbacher, Landau + Kindelbacher
Prof. Christine Nickl-Weller, Nickl & Partner Architekten
Dr. Jan Esche, Henn GmbH architects and engineers
Grad. eng. Christian Kern, Kern und Schneider Architekten Partnerschaft Blauwerk
Grad. eng. Susanne Schmidhuber, Schmidhuber + Partner
MEILLER Aufzugtüren GmbH, D-80997 München
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