22 Bishopsgate

Otis provides complex, custom VT system to a people-first workplace in the heart of the city.

Elevators, New Construction – London, England

submitted by Andy Bierer,
Otis Elevator Co.

Project Description

At 61 stories and 912 ft (278 m), 22 Bishopsgate is a people-first workplace in the heart of the City of London. It has been designed for individuals and businesses to thrive; the building prioritizes health, well-being and happiness through its culture, shared spaces and amenities.

Otis has a long history of providing vertical transportation (VT) for some of the tallest U.K. buildings. For 22 Bishopsgate, the company provided 53 elevators, including 26 double-deck units, some of which travel at 8 m/s (about 30 km/h) and are the fastest in London, as well as 10 escalators, including four to serve the landing floors of the double-deck units. The elevators are a mix of SkyRise® and Gen2® models, and feature Otis’ CompassPlus® advanced destination-dispatch management system.

Three SkyBuild™ high-speed, self-climbing elevators were utilized during construction to efficiently move Otis and other contractor staff and building materials as the tower rose skyward. Once construction was complete, they went straight into service as Otis SkyRise elevators.

22 Bishopsgate champions a responsible workplace, driving collaboration and interaction through well-being across 150,000 ft2 of amenity spaces. The amenity spaces were designed to support occupier and visitor needs. The Active Commuter Park (ACP) on Level B1 is designed to support and encourage the increasing number of people finding greener routes to work. Filled with up to 1,700 bike spaces, 75 showers and more than 1,300 secure lockers, this space makes cycling, walking or running to work easy. The Market, the foodie heart of the building, is on Level 2 in partnership with one of London’s top hospitality groups, RHC (Rhubarb Hospitality Collection). This is a space committed to delivering nutritious food with sustainable practices ensuring a zero-waste policy. Convene, a world-class meeting and conference space on Levels 3 and 4, offers 50,000 ft2 of space for up to 400 people.

XCHG (The Exchange) is a carefully curated incubator and innovation workspace community on Level 7, aimed at entrepreneurs, start-ups, scale-ups and small- and medium-sized enterprises. BXR City, with inspiring views across the city from Level 25, is a luxury fitness destination offering elite grade equipment, trainers, a transparent climbing wall, Versa climbing studio and luxury facilities.

22 Bishopsgate uses a range of new technologies and innovations, including an app-based entry and security system that allows one-click registration and touchless access to the building using NFC (near-field communication) or QR technology. The app even allows workers in the building to pre-order lunch through the Click and Collect service from The Market. Artist Bruce McLean even provided bold and unique artwork for each elevator car.

A building-wide fault detection and diagnosis system collects more than 1 million data points per day on temperature, air, light and water. This feeds back into the system so it can self-learn and make continuous improvements, allowing faults to be identified in real-time. Electricity for the building comes from 100% natural renewable resources. 22 Bishopsgate was also the first building in the U.K. to apply for the WELL Building Standard and has been awarded a BREEAM Excellent sustainability rating.

Transportation System Description

Befitting 22 Bishopsgate’s goal of enhancing the quality of life of its occupants through smart technologies, innovation and personal amenities, Otis provided its industry-leading, advanced technology products for the project and significantly improved construction workflow in the process. Otis’ success at 22 Bishopsgate came, in large part, from its engagement with the developer very early in the building’s planning, which influenced the construction process and its ability to supply products that supported the developers’ advanced technology vision.

Otis provided 53 elevators and 10 escalators for 22 Bishopsgate, the largest elevator and escalator contract ever placed in a commercial building in the U.K. Otis was also awarded a five-year maintenance contract. The elevators in the building include:

• 24 double-deck SkyRise elevators configured into three groups of eight to serve low-, mid- and high-rise levels, operating at 4 and 8 m/s. This configuration enables the system to move passengers efficiently without a sky lobby, meeting a requirement in the City of London that a passenger must be able to travel directly to their floor from the main lobby without changing elevators.

• 2 double-deck SkyRise elevators (8 m/s) serving as shuttles to the restaurant and viewing gallery at the top of the building — the highest viewing gallery and the highest floor built in London

• 22 satellite elevators, including 16 energy-efficient Gen2 units that complete the passenger system by guaranteeing access for people with disabilities and allow access to underground areas for service

• 3 goods lifts (4 m/s), which also served during the construction phase as SkyBuild units

• 2 26.5-mT elevators installed for lorries and other vehicles

The building’s elevators run up to 260 m in distance. Some 2,600 mT of Otis equipment was used on the project, with 25 km of elevator rail guides installed. 22 Bishopsgate features the highest speed double-deck elevators in Europe (at 8 m/s), and the 26 units are Otis’ largest double-deck installation in Europe.

The Otis SkyBuild self-climbing construction elevator grew with the building, giving crews access to the highest completed floor. SkyBuild elevators moved crews and equipment safely and quickly and eliminated the need for slow external construction elevators. They executed climbs quickly during off-hours, limiting disruptions to the schedule. Once construction was complete, each SkyBuild unit went straight into service as an Otis SkyRise elevator.

The Otis Gen2 elevators in the tower serve as secondary passenger elevators to access mezzanines and basements with special attention paid to people with reduced mobility or physical disabilities. Otis’ best-selling elevator with more than one million sold, Gen2 has been maximizing space savings and energy efficiency and providing exceptional daily performance with a smooth, quiet ride for more than 20 years.

The Construction Process

A “top down” construction method was used, meaning the core was built from an elevated level. While this can speed construction and reduce costs, for the VT part of the project, it also introduced challenges compared with traditional skyscraper construction, including working without a pit. 22 Bishopsgate is located in London’s busy City district, with no area reserved for storage or logistics. Just-in-time deliveries were necessary and mandatory for smooth construction. Due to access constraints and the large amount of material needed for the project, an off-site consolidation center in Dartford was utilized to reduce traffic and deliveries. Material was delivered at night to avoid traffic congestion and allow workers arriving on-site in the morning to begin work immediately. During the last year of work at the job site, all deliveries were done using the two vehicle elevators that are used to deliver supplies now that the building is operational.

Otis SkyBuild technology was utilized at 22 Bishopsgate for the first time in the U.K. and was critical to the company’s contract award and to the just-in-time material delivery process and tight construction schedule. Installing the elevators throughout the building process helped the 1,200 construction workers and their materials and tools move around quickly and safely. In addition, the double-deck elevators entered service during the construction process and played a vital role in the final stages by increasing the number of units and speeds available to workers in the building.

Advanced Technology

The developers at 22 Bishopsgate want to be on the leading edge of technology for those working in or visiting the building. Otis equipped its elevators with the CompassPlus® advanced destination dispatch management system with SmartGrouping™ technology, which gets passengers to their destinations as much as 50% faster than conventional dispatching systems.

CompassPlus also acts as a virtual concierge to guide passengers to the appropriate elevators and spaces within the building. The system offers a wide range of user interface screens and wayfinding signage and meets or exceeds requirements to provide assistance for those who may need it, improving accessibility for all.

22 Bishopsgate was designed, in part, to serve as corporate headquarters for multinational companies, adding project complexity due to inter-floor traffic and security concerns.

The building also has a specific evacuation plan in the event of fire, and Otis’ elevator software was adapted and approved by London’s fire department to deliver a custom elevator evacuation strategy.

Otis leveraged its unique and international expertise in Skyscrapers to deliver the 22 Bishopsgate project. The Otis team was composed of project managers, technical experts, adjustors and engineers from approximately 12 countries. With the timeline and the tremendous amount of coordination, Otis utilized 30-40 engineers on the project — a mix of company and subcontractor employees — who worked as a team to drive success. Peter Bicknell of JLL, 22 Bishopsgate’s property manager, said:

“Otis engineers worked extremely hard to get their inspections across the line. The senior leadership teams at 22 Bishopsgate and JLL are very aware of this and very grateful of their excellent standards of workmanship.”