Ideas Abound In The New Normal

In three short months, elevators have gone from the safest means of travel in the world to a stressful square space we are reluctant to enter. We are used to our equipment being ubiquitous. People barely notice elevators unless they aren’t working, but COVID-19 has made everyone aware that elevators (particularly in high-traffic buildings) will be packed. There will be no way to keep “social distance,” and you will have to touch things that many other people have touched. 

There is a wealth of advice in this issue, including in Elevator Technology in the Time of the Coronavirus, which covers Heilbronn Lift Days, an event that had more than 300 in attendance. We feature two webinars/panel discussions: one by CTBUH addressing How Things Will Change, Re: Urban Density and another, Webinar for the Elevator & Escalator Industry, India, led by Anitha Raghunath of Virgo Communications and ELEVATOR WORLD India, where more than 1,000 attended to hear OEMs discuss the effects of COVID-19 on the industry. In A Strange and Different New World, UK consultant Colin Craney tries to put the current crisis in context. Meanwhile, inventors in the industry have been hard at work developing products to ease passengers back onto elevators and escalators. Please see the Product Spotlight section towards the back of the book for a bonus of ideas to make the ride safer and less stressful.

The focus this issue is on R&D Centers. We have five to offer:

• Newest on the Market by Lee Freeland. Istanbul-based GENEMEK has a 22,000-m² manufacturing facility with one quarter of its employees in R&D. The article highlights the company’s latest fixtures. 
• Noise Abatement by Undine Stricker-Berghoff. Stuttgart scientists study building noises but have not had a full-fledged test in elevators.
• Big Brothers by Lee Freeland. View Elevator has developed a camera and monitor that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to detect suspicious or critical situations in elevators.
• Einstein Elevator by Undine Stricker-Berghoff. This elevator was invented at the Hanover Institute of Technology and is actually a test platform for zero-gravity research.
• A Prototype Robot Named “Heidi” by Undine Stricker-Berghoff. An interview with Christian Studer of Schindler’s R&D discusses how new ideas are formed there. Schindler’s R.I.S.E. (Robotic Installation System for Elevators) is now being tested by select customers.

Features this month cover the continent from Lisbon to London. Three articles involve modernizations. Lovely in Lisbon by Helena Calado concerns a complete modernization by thyssenkrupp of the iconic Bairro Alto Hotel in Bohemian Lisbon. Twice as Nice by Hongliang Liang is a modernization project at Westminster City Hall in London that retrofits double-deck elevators with destination control. The elevators were installed in the 1960s and modernized before in 2007. Open Wide by Jose Vilchez describes work done (by Otis) on the elevators at the National Theatre in Warsaw. The elevator has 30-ft vertical sliding doors by Peelle. 

The final feature is A New Face for Dubai. The Dubai Frame is the largest picture frame in the world – from one side it frames the old city and from the other the modern high rises.  Four panoramic elevators by thyssenkrupp climb the legs to a sky bridge atop the Frame.

We are all working together on this new normal, and we welcome your ideas!