Garaventa Artira Platform Lift: UK Guide, Specs and Costs
The Garaventa Artira is a platform stairlift built for staircases other lifts can't handle — curved, spiral, steep or narrow. Here's how it works, the platform sizes and specs, where it fits, and how it compares with the alternatives.
What Is the Garaventa Artira?
The Artira is a platform stairlift: an inclined platform lift that travels along your staircase carrying a wheelchair user, a scooter user, or — with the optional folding seat — someone who prefers to sit. It's made by Garaventa Lift, part of the Savaria Corporation alongside Handicare, and manufactured in Italy at Garaventa's Lainate facility near Milan.
Its distinguishing feature is versatility. Where many platform lifts are quoted only for straight or gently curved flights, the Artira is engineered to follow almost any staircase geometry, indoors or out. For the broader category, our incline platform lifts page covers the alternatives.
How the Artira Works
Three elements make up the lift. The guides are two 51 mm steel tubes that follow the staircase and contain the traction and support ropes. The drive system — a geared motor with two separate ropes running on self-lubricating balls and cones — sits away from the platform rather than on it. And the conveyance is the re-closable platform itself, which folds up flat when not in use.
Operation is fully electronic: a microchip holds the characteristics of your specific guide design and regulates speed according to where the platform is on the run — bottom landing, straight section, curve or upper landing — as well as managing the platform opening and closing, the safety arms, and fault reporting.
That off-platform drive arrangement is the reason the Artira fits where others don't. With no motor riding along, the platform assembly stays slim, and the drive unit can be positioned to leave the staircase and landings clear — including ceiling-mounted "gooseneck" installations and 90° drives placed in the eye of the stair.
Platform Sizes
The Artira comes in six standard platform sizes, and platforms can be customised after design verification to suit the specific staircase:
Platform size (W × D) |
|---|
640 × 680 mm |
700 × 750 mm |
800 × 800 mm |
800 × 900 mm |
800 × 1050 mm |
800 × 1220 mm |
Worth knowing when matching a platform to a wheelchair: a standard manual wheelchair typically needs around 700–750 mm width and 1,000–1,200 mm depth, which points towards the larger platforms in this range. Bring your wheelchair or scooter dimensions to the survey — our wheelchair lifts guide covers sizing in more detail.
Technical Specification
Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
Rated load | 250 kg / 1 passenger |
Rail system | Two 51 mm O.D. steel tubes, spaced 600 mm apart vertically |
Max speed | 0.10 / 0.15 m/s, with speed reduction near stops and curves |
Power supply | Single-phase 230 V, 50 Hz |
Controls | On-board platform controls and landing call stations |
Standard | EN 81-40 |
Optional extras include intermediate stops, side load, audio-visual signalling, an attendant remote control, a folding seat and a key switch.
Safety features on the platform itself include curved safety arms, grab bars, an anti-slip deck surface, ramps with bi-directional obstruction sensing, an under-platform sensing plate, and pedestrian safety lights — with a pedestrian audio alert and under-hanger sensing available as upgrades.
Staircases the Artira Handles
This is where the model earns its reputation. Garaventa specify the Artira for straight, curved and differently inclined stairs, and its published installation range covers curved stairs, spiral stairs, narrow stairs, steep stairs, negative bends, multi-ramp staircases, long pathways and condominium entrances.
For outdoor use, a special hot-dip galvanising treatment gives greater resistance to the elements and varying climatic conditions — relevant for UK exposure, and covered further in our external wheelchair lift guide.
Fixing options are similarly flexible: wall fixing, step fixing, fixing to the stair stringer, or fixing into the stairwell — chosen so the lift takes only the space it strictly needs and the staircase stays usable by everyone else when the platform is folded.
Mixed-Ability Buildings: One Lift, Different Users
A practical strength worth highlighting for flats, care homes and public buildings: with the optional folding seat, the same Artira serves wheelchair users, scooter users and ambulant people who simply need to sit. One installation covers a building where residents' needs vary — which is why Garaventa position it for condominiums, public buildings and retail. Our guides to lifts for residential buildings and wheelchair lifts for commercial buildings cover the wider compliance picture.
How the Artira Compares
Option | Best for | Stay in wheelchair? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Garaventa Artira | Complex, curved, spiral or narrow staircases | Yes | 250 kg, EN 81-40, folding seat option |
Standard incline platform lift | Straight or simply curved flights | Yes | From £8,000 |
Vertical platform step lift | Short rises and entrances | Yes | From £6,389 — no staircase needed |
Through-floor homelift | Whole-floor access at home | Yes — platform models | From £17,500 |
Stairlift | Seated users only | No — seat transfer | From ~£2,000 straight, £3,400 curved |
The honest guidance: if your staircase is straightforward, a standard incline platform lift will likely quote lower. The Artira comes into its own where the staircase is the problem — and where a building has users with genuinely different mobility needs. If the staircase can be avoided altogether, a step lift or homelift is often the simpler answer.
What Does an Artira Cost in the UK?
Garaventa don't publish list pricing, and neither do we invent it. Inclined platform lifts in the UK generally start from around £8,000, with the final figure set by the staircase geometry, rail length, platform size, fixings, indoor or outdoor specification and the options chosen. Because every Artira rail is designed to a specific staircase, a site survey and design verification are how you get a real number — and comparing more than one quote is worth the effort.
VAT relief may apply: qualifying installations for chronically sick or disabled users are zero-rated, and the means-tested Disabled Facilities Grant of up to £30,000 in England and £36,000 in Wales can fund access works through your local council.
Get a Free Brochure or a Free Quotation
Platform Lift UK is an independent matching service — not a manufacturer or a Garaventa dealer — so we can compare the Artira honestly against the alternatives for your staircase. Request a free brochure to weigh the options up, or go straight to a free, no-obligation quotation and we'll connect you with vetted installers covering your area. You can also browse every lift type in our comparison shop.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Garaventa Artira? The Artira is a platform stairlift — an inclined platform lift that carries a wheelchair user and their chair along a staircase on a folding platform. It's made by Garaventa Lift, part of the Savaria Corporation, and is designed to handle straight, curved, spiral, steep and narrow staircases, indoors and outdoors.
What is the weight capacity of the Garaventa Artira? The Artira has a rated load of 250 kg for one passenger, runs on a single-phase 230 V 50 Hz supply, and travels at a maximum of 0.10 to 0.15 m/s with automatic speed reduction near stops and curves. It's built to the EN 81-40 standard for inclined lifting platforms.
What platform sizes does the Artira come in? Six standard sizes: 640 × 680 mm, 700 × 750 mm, 800 × 800 mm, 800 × 900 mm, 800 × 1050 mm and 800 × 1220 mm. Platforms can also be customised after design verification to suit a specific staircase.
Can the Artira be installed on curved or spiral stairs? Yes — this is its main strength. The Artira is specified for curved, spiral, steep and narrow staircases, negative bends, multi-ramp flights and long pathways. Because the drive system sits off the platform, the assembly stays compact on the stairs, and drive units can be ceiling-mounted or placed in the eye of the stair.
Can someone who doesn't use a wheelchair use an Artira? Yes — an optional folding seat allows the same lift to be used by people who prefer to sit, alongside wheelchair and scooter users. That makes it a practical choice for flats, care homes and public buildings where residents and visitors have different mobility needs.
