An Event-filled New Year

We start off this year reporting on several key events that happened at the end of 2022. We traveled to Barcelona, Spain, in December to attend the International Elevator & Escalator Symposium (IEES). In Brave New World, Associate Editor Kaija Wilkinson writes about the event, backed by ELEVATOR WORLD and Liftinstituut, that gathered vertical-transportation (VT) experts together to explore “The Future of VT in 2030.” Expert presenters and attendees discussed the rise of supertalls, mixed-used towers, the Internet of Things, solar power, data collection, high density living, the future of accessibility and even VT in outer space.

Also held in December, the inaugural International Sourcing Exposition for Elevators & Escalators was reported on by our EW India editor, Vijay Pandya, and writer Sheetal S. Patel. Held in Mumbai, it drew more than 14,000 visitors and 150 exhibitors. In November, our historian, EW Correspondent Dr. Lee Gray, reported on The 2022 CTBUH International Conference. The question discussed there was, “What constitutes tall excellence?” The group would like to establish a system for assessing all aspects of tall building performance for certification. 

Our focus this month is The Future of VT – 2030. We have two articles on the topic that were presented at the IEES in Barcelona:

• Lifts in the New Millennium by Elena Mauro. This paper describes how elevators are judged against the Lift Directive in Europe and the intricacies of the Safety Integrity Level (SIL) of VT equipment.

• Polymer Matrix Composite Applications on the Elevators of the Future by Emre Köroğlu and Ali Kiliç. These authors explore using PMC materials in VT equipment due to its being lightweight compared to steel and even aluminum.

This issue, we celebrate the winners of the 25th Annual Project of the Year contest. All the winners showcased their ingenuity and challenges overcome. It was a stellar year with amazing projects; we hope you enjoy reading about them and consider participating in the contest in the future. 

We are preparing for a busy, event-filled 2023 and hope to see you during our travels. 

As we go to press, only a week has passed since the earthquake that devastated parts of Turkiye and Syria. Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected.