Upwardly Mobile by Celia Knox

The lift wasn’t originally intended to carry people; it was developed to carry heavy resources. It was the means by which to lug coal and lumber up and down hills. Since then we have taken advantage of a brilliantly practical invention to maximise the height that buildings can climb and to minimise the effort we make to climb them. 

In a constant quest for convenience, we lean more and more on machines. Instead of bringing books on holiday, we load them on to a device; instead of counting our own monopoly money, we get a machine to; instead of getting up and changing the volume, we use an app; and instead of using our legs to go up a few flights of stairs, we use lifts.

The trouble with convenience is that it can cloud our judgement. We forget what it feels like to do the tasks that our machines are doing for us. We begin to assume everyday activities are incredibly strenuous or unpleasant or impossible. Often, they are not. Whether you do it for exercise, meditation, pride, or a good view, it’s a pleasure to take the stairs.

What you can do: Take the ‘Step Up’ challenge set by our friends at the The DoNation and ditch the lift for two months.

Celia Knox is a 2nd year graphic design student at the University of the West of England, Bristol.