I see they painted some high viz caution stripes on the counterweights in the color photos. I thought they looked kinda dangerous for the people on the ground.
The builder designed special electric-operated elevator desks which rise, fall, and move left or right at the push of a button, to stop just before the desired drawer. The drawers also open and close electronically.
Looks like an archives building. It's still done roughly the same except it's shelves of boxes holding the records and you ride in a glorified electric forklift that can take you up and down with a small workspace attached. (Basically just a box with a shelf table so you can sign the records as they're taken out/ returned.)
This is what happens when you cross a file clerk with a forklift. On earth, anyway. On Cybertron you get Orion Pax, while on Mars you get crazy cogboys.