Prague Castle – Lift by the Josip Plečnik
Jože plečnik, commonly known as Josip Plečnik, (23th January, 1872, Ljubljana – 7th January, Ljubljana) was a Slovenian architect and urbanist who contributed via his work in 1920s and 1930s to the current appearance of the Prague Castle. He was a devoted client of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk.
In 1888, he used a state scholarship he got to get to an industrial school in Gradec. He studied joinery and related subjects. He got into contact with architecture students there as well and learnt so much that professor Leopold Theyer accepted him as his draughtsman in his atelier.
Jože’s father died suddenly and that caused him to become a world-class architect, not a joiner. His mother together with his older brother though he was too young to get his father’s workshop.
In 1892, he left for Vienne. He worked there in a furniture factory. It was a good but tough experience for him, he never really liked to remember this part of his life.
In the end of 1920, he became a professor of architecture in the University of Ljubljana.
The most important work of this Jan Kotěra’s, Josef Hoffmann’s and Adolf Loose’s peer were Prague Castle projects (first and third courtyard reconstruction, southern gardens modification), projects for Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord in Vinohrady, Prague (1928 – 1932), Villa Langer in Vienne (1901), Sacher’s Palace in Vienne (1905), Karel Boromejský’s Fountain and many others.
Lift Description
Personal president’s lift is was designed by world-class architect Josip Plečnik, who significantly influenced the current appearance of the Prague Castle – the seat of the president of the Czech Republic.
The lift is a part of the presidential staircase located between the palace’s western wing and the chapel. The lift cabin is cylindrical and travels in a brick oval shaft. Inner diameter of the lift cabin is 200 cm, so it both looks imposing and allows more people to travel together without space limitations.
The cabin is made of teak with many layers of transparent polished lacquer. The inner space is naturally lighted through the cabin and shaft doors and also through great shaft windows. The ground plan of the cabin is divided into four segments, one of them has been replaced for sliding door. The segments’ connection is well hidden with four stylised Dorian columns. The lift cabin entrance uses original hand-operated sliding door made of teak wood. Even the door is shaped in the same way as the cylindrical cabin is and in a part, they are made of bent transparent glass. Both wings of the door are connected via an original chain mechanism placed in the hollow cabin’s ceiling. The cabin interior is equipped with new brass control buttons.
Around the oval shaft, there is a two-arm marble staircase with landings.
The lift has been modernised by Triplex in 2007. The engine principle remained intact – a traction cable engine positioned below the lift shaft. The engine room is oval as well and is atypically located below the bottom floor, below the pit of the lift’s shaft. Axles of the cables were redirected using pulleys over the top oval room above the lift shaft.
New shaft door were designed by architect David Prudík in 2006. They were meant to be glass fronted as much as possible, door handles and joints should be from a lacquered burnished brass. New electrical door closing controlled by lift buttons was implanted. All the new components and technical implementation is in compliance with current safety standards and suitable material requirements.
