AWARD YEAR
2021
CATEGORY
Community
GOALS
Good Health & Well-being, Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure, Life On Land, Trust, Tolerance & Empathy
KEYWORDS
escape elevator, reduced mobility, japan, evacuation, mobility-impaired
COUNTRY
Japan
DESIGNED BY
Noriaki Kido, TetsuyaFujitani
WEBSITE
https://www.naka-kogyo.co.jp/products/ud-escape.html
UD-Escape
An escape elevator that requires no power supply, designed especially for mobility-impaired people.
UD-Escape is an escape elevator that requires no power supply, designed to eliminate the problems encountered in evacuating mobility-impaired people. Conventional ladder- and slide-type escape equipment is designed for able-bodied people, but is unsuited for evacuating elderly people, people with disabilities, and people who have to carry infants and young children. This product was highly praised for the fact that it fits the specifications of existing veranda hatches, can be deployed quickly in an emergency, and enables users to descend to the ground safely. As the user’s own weight is employed in conjunction with a centrifugal brake to slow the descent, it requires no power supply and enables users to descend at a speed that feels safe, while still ensuring that people wait their turn even in an emergency. It would be fair to say that this design is the fruit of unstinting efforts by a long-established manufacturer of evacuation equipment to make full use of its abilities.