Schindler, one of the leading lift manufacturers for more than 150 years, today announces the installation of the first escalator in the future emblematic Villejuif Institut Gustave-Roussy (IGR) station on line 15 South of the Grand Paris Express. The station will be served by line 14 (commissioning in 2024) and line 15 (commissioning end of 2025) and plans to accommodate 100.000 passengers daily.
Each station has its own design, artistic and cultural approach
The Société du Grand Paris (SGP) wanted to breathe a different artistic wind into each station (68) to create a unique identity. Thus, tandem architects/contemporary artists have been formed to dress the future metro stations. Each work is integrated into the architecture of each station.
As for the future Villejuif IGR station, the architecture was designed by Dominique Perrault in the shape of a cylinder 70 meters in diameter, and was thought of as a connector from the world below to the world above, and vice versa. A space of 30 meters hollowed out inside the cylinder, surrounded by galleries in balconies, will welcome at the beginning of 2023 4 large monumental staircases signed Schindler. By their design, construction and length, these will fit perfectly into the depths of the station.
To dialogue with Dominique's work, the Chilean artist Ivàn Navarro will integrate an optical illusion work (a play of lights and mirrors).
Schindler stairs: mobility focused on safety and respect for the environment
181 Schindler escalators will transport users vertically in 8 stations on the southern section of line 15.
Concerning the IGR station, the Schindler teams worked, from the call for tenders phase, on the definition of the loads and the take-up of forces on the monumental devices. After the Société Grand Paris (SGP) requested the addition of various elements that increase the load on the escalators (side coverings, glass fall arresters, sound systems and lighting), a complex structural calculation of the latter was necessary. Schindler provided the necessary calculation notes well in advance of the contract, so that the civil engineering work could begin serenely.
Throughout the project, safety and respect for the environment were the watchwords.
Safety: To enable Société du Grand Paris to ensure the safety of its network, escalators are designed to remain stable in a station in the event of a fire. The fire resistance analyzes of the structures have enabled the SGP to better understand these needs in terms of protection of the framework against fire, while maintaining the aesthetics of the escalators desired by the designer.
Evacuation studies have also made it possible to propose an automatic restart operation for escalators in the exit direction, including recommendations relating to the upkeep and maintenance of this equipment.
Finally, Schindler has been a forerunner since 2014 in the installation of tactile signs around escalators. This device was very much appreciated and explicitly requested by the designer of this major project for the safety of users.
The environment: Concerned about offering quality products while ensuring the preservation of the environment, all the escalators that Schindler will install on the Grand Paris Express project are completely recyclable and/or recoverable and many components are manufactured from recycled products, such as aluminum or steel.
All the escalators that Schindler will install on the Grand Paris Express project come from their modern production plant, located in Dunajska Streda in Slovakia, with a supply of more than 75% European components.
This proximity, within the European Union, ensures the maintenance of employment and production within Europe, great flexibility in the on-site delivery circuit and a very favorable carbon footprint.