The lift, this unknown someone said in the past. Today we have a more technical expression “Beyond the square and the X”1.

The title chosen by the workshop organisers, held on 8th February 2013 in Venice (Tafuri Room, Badoer Palace, IUAV) - was aimed to emphasising the almost unknown role of the lift by designers and its neglected role within the building design.

To fill this gap, the IUAV University in Venice - in collaboration with Elevatori magazine (see par. 1) gathered architects and engineers in a workshop focused on lift system basic information in order to promote its final consideration as a core element in the building and not just an installation to be disguised.

Claudio Felisi, an engineer working for Wittur reported about the topic “lift and architectural project: aesthetical improvement, energy efficiency, comfort and safety”.