If you’re wondering how on earth Santa has room at the North Pole for all the presents he’ll be delivering, the answer is, of course, a mezzanine. In fact, we’d like to think he has invested in installing at least three tiers to help those elves keep track of everyone’s gifts …
Mezzanines also feature in exciting locations across the globe, opening up space and providing a fantastic way to showcase art collections, speed travellers through stations or facilitate meetings.
Amazing mezzanine
There really are amazing mezzanines in London, New York and Paris, and plenty of other places in between.
In London there are glorious examples from the Royal Opera House to Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall, and we discuss more in this look at how mezzanines bring a stunning “wow factor” to historic and Listed buildings.
At the New York Public Library, the Rose Main Reading Room features a mezzanine level that provides additional space for book storage and reading areas while maintaining the room’s grandeur and openness.
Then there’s the Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright with a wonderful spiral ramp that acts as a mezzanine, allowing visitors to view art pieces from various levels and angles.
Iconic views
Meanwhile, at New York’s Grand Central Station, the mezzanine balconies overlooking the main concourse provide iconic views of the bustling terminal, its celestial ceiling and its grand windows.
Zip over to Paris, and at the Louvre the glass pyramid entrance includes mezzanine levels that connect different parts of the museum and provide vantage points for visitors to appreciate the structure and surrounding art.
The Palais Garnier, the original Paris Opera House, is a masterpiece of 19th century theatre art, with mezzanine levels in its grand foyer and auditorium. These enhance the feeling of opulence and offer opera-goers additional viewing areas to see and be seen.
Heading to another continent, the Sydney Opera House in Australia has popular mezzanine levels in the foyers giving visitors space to enjoy sweeping views of Sydney Harbour and socialise before performances.
Exceptional visibility
In Asia, Hong Kong High-Speed Rail Station features swooping mezzanines as well as a rooftop park for local people and tourists. Mezzanines provide exceptional visibility for transport hubs and help circulate passengers effectively.
The Lotus Temple in Delhi, India, includes a central prayer hall surrounded by 27 freestanding marble-clad “petals.” The structure features a subtle mezzanine area allowing for greater accommodation of worshippers and visitors, reinforcing the inclusive, open-armed design of the temple.
In Africa, the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, uses mezzanines to house auxiliary spaces, meeting rooms and provide balcony seating for large events. They offer both public and private areas for discussions and negotiations between African leaders.
The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town, housed in a historic grain silo complex at the V&A Waterfront, is a great example of adaptive re-use with mezzanine levels. The mezzanines help create dramatic exhibition spaces and serve not only as a functional area for art display but also as a symbolic way of “stitching” together modern art with the industrial past of the site.
Spectacular mezzanine
Finally, when it comes to spectacular mezzanines we should also mention the rise of the super-warehouse the world over. Some are ten times the size of St Paul’s Cathedral and there are plans to expand the Tesla Gigafactory in Nevada into the world’s largest building at over 10 million sq. ft.
Hi-Level Mezzanines has worked with clients who feature among the world’s Top 20 biggest warehouses, including Amazon, ASOS, Ikea, M&S and Tesco.
Contact us today to talk about a mezzanine to help your business grow.
