Book a meeting

Rochester Bridge Trust

Share

Project information

Main contractor

Mark Bond - WFC Contractors

Architect

Rita Baltina - Hugh Broughton Architects Ltd

The building

Rochester’s medieval Bridge Chapel and Victorian Bridge Chamber are striking heritage buildings, but were not built with accessibility in mind. As part of the 2020 refurbishment, the forecourt was subtly raised to remove the step at the Chapel door, allowing easy access to the entrance hall of the adjoining Victorian building. However, the four steps in the split-level hall, a key historic feature, had to remain, so another solution was needed - a Sesame Lift!


The process

  1. Initial consultation & design: The Rochester Bridge Trust contacted Sesame, looking for a discreet accessibility solution for the Bridge Chapel and Chamber. At the time, Karol and Andy had just completed an R&D project designing a new lift, and when this project came up, it fitted the bill perfectly. Together with the client, Karol and Andy adapted the design to suit the historic setting.
  2. Testing & site preparation: Sesame's Head Engineer Andy tested the ground, checked cables, and identified any underground services that might interfere with the installation.
  3. Design: Design and Program Engineer, Karol and Andy worked together to design the lift to fit the space.
  4. Building the lift: The entire Sesame team got involved in constructing the lift. Manufacturing took around 16 weeks, with every engineer playing a part in building and assembling the bespoke system
  5. Installation: Sesame installed the lift, ensuring that it was correctly placed and fully functional. In February 2022, Sesame engineers Les and Bart, carried out the installation. They fitted the lift into the stone steps at the Bridge Chapel, ensuring it blended seamlessly into the historic surroundings.

Challenges

  1. One of the main challenges Sesame faced during the Rochester project was that the client had not been made aware that access lifters would originally be visible on the steps. To solve this, Sesame completely redesigned the system, creating a solution where the steps themselves lift discreetly, without the need for visible access lifters. (Note: the video footage available is from an earlier version of the design and does not reflect the final solution.)
  2. Another major challenge was the scale of the redesign. All four stone steps had to be newly manufactured, matching the historic look while integrating modern lift technology.
  3. This was a big R&D project for Sesame, two years in the making. A key innovation was using aluminium extrusion to form the structure of the lift, allowing the system to be strong, lightweight, and compact enough to work within the sensitive historic environment.

Testimonial from the Sesame team

“We really enjoyed working on this project, especially developing the lift during the R&D phase. It was a great opportunity to be creative and come up with a solution that really made a difference.

The whole team found the people involved, especially Mark, the main contractor, who was a pleasure to work with. Everyone was positive, supportive, and made the process run smoothly.

Testimonial from the client

Sue Threader, Bridge Clerk (Chief Executive) at the Rochester Bridge Trust, said: “One of the most important aspects of the recent refurbishment was improving the accessibility of the Chapel and Chamber, and we are very pleased to have achieved this. The installation of the Sesame lift was particularly important to me because it significantly improves accessibility while having minimal impact on fabric of the building and the visitor experience.”