Thyssenkrupp Elevator’s groundbreaking rope-less and sideways-moving elevator, MULTI, has won the 2018 Innovation Award at CTBUH’s first annual Tall + Urban Innovation Conference, which was held during May 30-31, 2018, at the Aqua Tower in Chicago. The Innovation Award winner was selected by an independent panel of experts based on the technology that is expected to have the greatest positive impact on high-rise buildings as well as the people who use these buildings.
“To be recognized by the world’s premier authority on tall buildings is not only a great honor, but also reinforces the powerful impact MULTI is poised to make as urbanization demands continue to increase,” said Andreas Schierenbeck, CEO of thyssenkrupp Elevator. “MULTI is unlike anything we’ve ever seen in this industry and serves as further proof that thyssenkrupp Elevator remains passionately committed to developing game-changing technologies that will help make urban mobility safer and more efficient.”
In addition, the initiative “Germany – Land of Ideas” and Deutsche Bank awarded MULTI as one of the 100 mostly distinguished “Landmarks 2018” in Germany. The initiative was founded by the Federal Government and German industry, represented by Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie (BDI). Under the annual motto “Connecting worlds – strengthening cohesion” it rewards outstanding ideas and forward-looking innovations that make a contribution to shaping an open society. Therewith, it strives to make innovations visible locally as well as abroad and to strengthen Germany’s performance and sustainability as an industrial location.
“To be recognized by the world’s premier authority on tall buildings is not only a great honor, but also reinforces the powerful impact MULTI is poised to make as urbanization demands continue to increase,” said Andreas Schierenbeck, CEO of thyssenkrupp Elevator.
“As cities grow taller and taller, planners and architects increasingly face the challenge of transporting more and more people as comfortably and quickly as possible. MULTI connects different environments and enhances the mobility and quality of peoples’ life in urban areas,” said Prof. Michael Cesarz, CEO MULTI of thyssenkrupp Elevator. “The new technologychanges the way people move, work and live in cities.It stands for an intelligent and sustainable architecture that makes cities even more livable places.”
Instead of one cabin per shaft moving up and down, MULTI offers multiple cabins operating in a loop, much like a metro system inside a building. This results in a higher transport capacity – up to 50 per cent – as well as reduced waiting times for passengers. MULTI also requires dramatically lower peak power – as much as a 60-per cent reduction when compared to conventional elevator systems. This allows for better management of a building’s energy needs, and reduces investment costs in the power supply infrastructure.
In the past year, MULTI has earned numerous accolades, including earning Gold recognition at the Edison Awards, winning both the German Design Award and the Deutsche Innovationspreis’ Innovation Award, as well as being recognized as one of the Top 25 Inventions of the Year by TIME magazine.
MULTI – unveiled to the public in June 2017 at thyssenkrupp’s 800-foot, state-of-the-art test tower in Rottweil, Germany – requires fewer and smaller shafts than conventional elevators, and can increase a building’s usable area by up to 25 per cent, offering additional revenue opportunities from the extra rentable/leasable space. This is particularly important considering current elevator-escalator footprints can occupy up to 40 per cent of a high-rise building’s floor space.
(Photographs courtesy thyssenkrupp)
