LOADING ELEVATOR
Théâtre Les Célestins, Lyon, France
The loading elevator of Théâtre des Célestins is accessible at street level, and serves a total of 5 levels, with understage and main stage at the top, and a small studio theater, Les Célestines, in the basement. Built with minimal space below the basement level (dictated by the water table of the nearby rivers Saône and Rhône), the elevator was fitted with a hydraulic drive. With the drive aging, door locks and safety switches rattling in their housings, and the wish of the users to include its servicing and maintenance within the ‘express service’ stage machinery contract, it was time to rethink the system.
The project brief further included increased height of the main cabin, facilities to safely strap tall items to its side walls, improved work lights, and replacement of pesky doors, frames and locks on serviced levels.
A unique aspect of the movement and fitout of the elevator is that the shaft is part of the make-up air supply for the stage house in case of a fire. This means that the elevator must be able to return to street level before doors and hatches open to start the air flow. This meant that all access points to the shaft need to be fire-rated, with further acoustic requirements for doors, lockes, drives and brakes.
The technical solution was found in a new electric drive system that uses push chains for lifting, similar to those found under orchestra pit platforms. The chains move up and down in guides mounted between the cabin and the side walls of the shaft. This type of equipment is well-known and frequently employed in stage machinery, which makes it easy to integrate in the theatre equipment maintenance contracts. The transport cabin has been enlarged to its maximum dimensions, and provided with ample work lights, well out of the way of its load.
The end result is a safe, reliable, and easy to maintain logistical spine of the theater.
Owner — Les Célestins, Théâtre de Lyon
Theatre planner — The Space Factory
Projet delivered 01/2026
