TK Elevator celebrates 20 years of TWIN, the revolutionary elevator launched in 2003 and first showcased at The University of Stuttgart in Germany.
TWIN was the world’s first elevator to have two cabins operating independently in the same shaft. This means that it is capable of transporting up to 40% more passengers while requiring 25 per cent less of a building’s valuable floorspace than conventional mobility solutions.
At the time, TWIN opened new design concepts for architects and gave owners significant savings on the energy used in a building. Developers also found that requiring fewer shafts meant more leasable space, making buildings more attractive to investors. Twenty years later, TK Elevator’s TWIN is still the only elevator in the world capable of offering the many benefits of two cabins moving independently in one shaft.
Technology for the future
The energy consumption of buildings is one of the largest contributors to the operational carbon footprint of cities around the world. Although double-decker elevators were already well established in the last century, they can only move both elevator cars at the same time and therefore often use energy to power empty cabins. In comparison, TWIN conserves energy by parking one of the cabins whenever passenger volumes are low. When traffic volumes are high and there is a lot of inter-floor traffic, TWIN also minimizes congestion and reduces waiting times. Initially developed to address the high inter-floor traffic flow in offices, TWIN has been implemented as the mobility solution of choice in many other building types due to its high-degree of flexibility.
While TWIN always came equipped with a regenerative drive, which uses the elevator’s own braking mechanism to generate electricity which is then fed back into the building’s grid, several updates have been made since its launch.
Also read: TK Elevator Wins Prize For Energy Management At NECA 2022
Built for flexibility
TWIN was created with the digital future in mind. Passengers simply select a floor at an AGILE Destination Control lobby terminal, and the intelligent dispatching algorithm automatically directs passengers to the elevator they need. This not only quickens the pace and improves efficiency, it also allows for adaptability to brand-new building traffic concepts and fluctuating traffic patterns.
