In the ’80s, a backyard pool was the last word in luxury. In the ’90s, it was walk-in wardrobes and ensuite bathrooms. In the 2000s, we coveted butler’s pantries and ducted aircon. Over the decades, these ‘luxury’ inclusions have gradually trickled through to all sectors of the housing market, evolving from something that’s nice to have, to something that many new home buyers expect.

As the market once again shifts with changing demographics, rising costs, technological advancements and land supply pressures, we’re starting to see another high-end home inclusion work its way into the mainstream: the elevator.

When Next Level Elevators was first established 14 years ago, custom home elevators were a premium inclusion, most often specified for homes within certain exclusive suburbs around Sydney and Melbourne, says CEO Wayne Harrington. ‘Now, it's moving from being an afterthought to being part of the original design conversation,’ he adds. ‘An elevator used to be a luxury item at the very high end of the market, but now it's not.’

Families and forever homes

According to Wayne, multi-generational households, convenience, long-term thinking and a growing preference for staying in a forever home are the biggest drivers behind residential lifts moving from optional to expected. ‘This is a client-led shift as much as a design-led one,’ he says. 

‘People are thinking about their home longer-term. When we see clients coming into our showroom, it's a couple with their children, but with their parents as well. And they're thinking, right, how do we use this home?’

And while they are a fantastic solution for ageing-in-place, Wayne points out that lifts aren’t just about the ageing story. ‘It's about the usability, liveability. Creating a home that functions better,’ he says. An integrated elevator offers the perfect blend of privacy, convenience and accessibility – the keys to successful multi-generational living. 

Building up, not out

Thanks to land constraints in Australian metropolitan markets, two-, three- and four-storey homes on modest footprints are increasingly common.

‘There’s an architectural driver behind the uptick in demand for lifts – and specifically compact lifts,’ Wayne explains. ‘Floor plates are getting smaller because block sizes are shrinking. So, coupled with that demographic of more people living in a home, together with a smaller block, you’ve got to go up.’

When the living, sleeping and entertaining zones are distributed vertically rather than horizontally, accessibility becomes an imperative. The lift ceases to be a luxury and becomes a functional design element.

This is where technological advancement has had the biggest impact. Modern residential lifts are engineered to be highly space-efficient, meaning they can improve amenity in a smaller home without compromising the layout. In many designs, particularly on smaller blocks, that footprint compares favourably with the space a well-designed staircase requires.

Simple to specify and to install 

‘The residential elevator category that builders and architects encountered five to 10 years ago is not the category they are encountering today,’ Wayne says. ‘When we think about lifts, most of us envisage commercial hydraulic lifts, which need a separate room with a hydraulic pump and oil reservoir. These require higher energy usage and are service-intensive. But modern residential lifts are all-electric and really easy to integrate into a new or existing home. They don’t need machine rooms and large infrastructure.’

Wayne adds that integrated lifts are also highly adaptable and customisable, making them a smart and simple option for retrofits and renovation/addition projects as well as new builds.

From a cost and efficiency perspective, Wayne advises builders and architects to treat lift specification as an early-stage design decision for new home builds and renovation projects. ‘There is a misconception that you can leave the lift integration and decision until later. However, you get a much better outcome if they're designed into the building from the start rather than trying to fit them into whatever space happens to remain further along,’ he says.

In fact, the single most common issue Next Level Elevators encounters is lifts being introduced too late in a project – after floorplans are set, structural decisions are made, and the shaft becomes a compromise rather than a considered element.

The practical takeaway: bring the conversation forward – ‘as early as possible is ideal, to get the structural integration right with the perceived usage and traffic flow,’ Wayne says. ‘So, which way the door opens, where does it open into? At Next Level Elevators, we offer assets like BIM content to support designers through this process.’ 

And while navigating this new building category may seem daunting and complex, suppliers are working hard to streamline their product line-ups and installation procedures. Next Level Elevators, for example, has two main offerings, both backed by seven-year warranties and a 24/7 service department: the Eltec Volare, a standard-size option; and the customisable Eltec HLB.

Both can be paired with the SmartShaft, which was specifically developed for the Australian building industry – Wayne describes it as a self-supporting aluminium constructed modular shaft. ‘It's a framework … a bit like a bolt-together Meccano set.

‘Seamlessness has always been essential to what we do,’ Wayne continues. ‘We make it simple and make it easy for the architect to design in. We make it easy for the builder to incorporate the elevator into their project – we coordinate with the site managers and talk with their building teams.’

Elevate the value 

The technology and systems behind these new-generation elevators mean that installing a lift is more cost-effective than ever before – something that’s critical in today’s housing market. ‘Everything is tighter,’ Wayne says.

‘Everyone’s under the same pressure. People are wanting more for less and inclusions such as a lift are a huge value-add to any home. The valuation increases straight away. Real estate agents will tell you that a lift opens a property up to many more buyers.’

So what does this mean for HIA members? ‘Builders who understand lift specification as part of their standard capability will have a design and client-service advantage over those who continue to treat it as a specialist add-on,’ Wayne says.

‘If you’re doing a spec home or a contract home or you're talking about something you want to turn over or you want to encourage your client to see value – the value and perception of the lift is much higher than the cost.’

This article was compiled with contributions from Next Level Elevators