Shanghai rises to occasion with new elevator law

Shanghai has taken the lead in the country in assisting the elderly living in multistory buildings, as the municipality now requires such new buildings to have elevators.

Multifloor residential buildings usually refer to four-, five- or six-story buildings with two or more suites per floor. Such buildings, which represent the major residential building plan in China, usually don't have elevators because of their cost.

The revised standards for residential building design took effect this month.

Experts said the city's growing aging population is the major reason that the municipality is requiring multifloor residential buildings to install elevators.

"For elderly people, especially those who are not very mobile, climbing stairs every day is not easy. And it's also causing some problems," said Chen Huaning, an engineer with the Shanghai Institute of Architectural Design and Research, which compiled the new standards.

By the end of last year, the city had more than 14 million registered people. Those 60 and older accounted for more than 27 percent, the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau said.

Chen said the new design standards aim to address this situation.

Public areas will be increased after installing elevators in residential buildings, but industry insiders said they would not have too much of an effect on the building designs.

Earlier this year, the Gerontological Society of Shanghai worked with the city's Jiang'an district to begin offering assistance for elderly people who have difficulty climbing stairs.

Those who have such difficulty and who live in buildings without elevators can call the hotline to hire the service. Volunteers will use professional equipment to help with the stair climbing.

So far, the service is available mainly for those 80 and older. Partly funded by the government, the service requires residents to pay 10 yuan ($1.60) each time, the society said.

"Many elderly people are now living in buildings without elevators. The service has offered them much convenience. We have seen good results, and more elderly people are using such services," said Sun Pengbiao, the society's secretary-general.

Sun said the group is working on improving the service, and it is expected to expand within the city in the near future.

High-rise residential buildings have other new requirements under the new standards, such as fire detectors and automatic sprinklers in the rooms.

"Because of a shortage of land, residential buildings now are being built much taller than before. But this also creates more problems, such as fire hazards. In this regard, more factors should be taken into account when designing high-rise buildings, especially to improve their safety," Chen said.

Considering land use, living safety, cost and other factors, Chen believes that the most suitable height for Shanghai residential buildings should be 25 stories, or 70 to 80 meters high.