Otis, noteworthy architects involved in Manchester, London projects.

Otis Installing 53 Units in Manchester Airport

Otis UK announced in November that it began installing lifts, escalators and moving walks into the new Manchester Airport Terminal 2 extension. The facility is undergoing a GBP1-billion (US$1.3-billion) investment program to better its passenger experience and infrastructure capacity. Passengers will use 38 Gen2® Stream lifts that carry up to 33 people each at a top speed of 3 mps. Otis will also install three goods lifts, eight 0.5-mps escalators and four moving walks. Each of the latter is longer than 50 m and will also travel at 0.5 mps.

The work, scheduled to be completed in 2020, will enable an estimated 35 million passengers to use the hub every year, increasing capacity more than seven million than current. Bertrand Rotagnon, Otis UK Director of New Equipment, said, “This job from contractor Laing O’Rourke lays the foundation for a strategic footprint in the airport market.”

Renovation of 1930s London Power Station Includes Glass Lift

Architecture firm WilkinsonEyre and developer Battersea Power Station Development Co. announced that Chimney Lift, a glass lift rising 109 m through one of the four chimneys at Battersea Power Station in London, will be an attraction at the revitalized complex that will include Apple’s new London campus (ELEVATOR WORLD, March 2018), dezeen reported. The lift will provide passengers 360˚ views over London. Designed by Giles Gilbert Scott and opened in the 1930s, the power station was decommissioned in 1983. It is being redeveloped to house the development company, shops, offices, apartments and a hotel as the centerpiece of a 17-ha masterplan by Rafael Viñoly that also involves architects Bjarke Ingels Group, Simpson Architects, drMM, Gehry Partners and Foster + Partners.

Otis SkyBuild Being Used in London’s Future Tallest

dezeen reported in November 2018 that Otis’ climbing SkyBuild™ lifts are enabling the efficient construction of Twentytwo, what will be the tallest London building when complete this year. Now to rise 278 m with 62 stories, the tower in the financial district has had two working SkyBuild lifts throughout construction that will remain in the building. The self-climbing lifts can be installed in a shaft once construction has reached the third story. As the shaft rises, the lift is raised within it. The system works by using two platforms locked within the shaft from which the lift is hung. After construction of a floor has taken place, the lift “jumps” up the shaft. The upper platform is unlocked from the shaft and hydraulically raised. It is then locked in place at a higher level. The process is then repeated for the lower platform to raise the system one story. Otis said crew and tools movement took place approximately eight times faster than it would have if using a standard goods lift.

Designed by London-based PLP Architecture and developed by AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets in partnership with Lipton Rogers Developments, the building was previously reported to get 67 Otis units (EW, March 2017).

Four Towers up to 48 Stories Approved in South London

Planners in Southwark, South London, approved developer Avanton’s Ruby Triangle project that will see 17-, 30-, 40- and 48-story residential towers rise on the 1.4-ha Old Kent Road site, Architects’ Journal reported. Designed by Farrells in a traditional style, the structures will contain 1,152 residences — 40% affordable — along with 10,849 m2 of public sports space, retail and studios. A church and small businesses will be demolished to make way for Ruby Triangle. Some residents had objected to the buildings’ heights and amount of affordable housing, but planners said the development provides the “right balance of benefits for local people and will complement the area.”

RPBW Throws Hat Into the Ring on London Redevelopment Plan

Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) is again teaming up with Shard developer Sellar Property Group for a new office/retail structure in an emerging district next to London Bridge Station in Southwark, London, Architects’ Journal reports. The building appears to be at least 20 stories tall. Should it be approved, it will include a new pedestrian path and join other towers that are part of the larger St. Thomas Street East Framework plan being overseen by multiple landowners. That plan includes a 39-story “origami-style” tower by Kohn Pedersen Fox across from The Shard that replaces a 2010 plan for a 45-story student-housing tower that was approved but never built.

LIFTEX 2019 Coming Up

The Lift and Escalator Industry Association (LEIA)’s triennial LIFTEX 2019 takes place at London’s ExCeL London on May 15-16. LEIA says “it is already shaping up to be bigger than ever before.” Now in its 31st year, the event will showcase the latest products and services across the industry. There will be more than 20 new exhibitors joining other U.K. and European suppliers, such as LEIA members Alimak Hek, Digital Advanced Controls, Gartec, Global Lift Equipment, International Lift Equipment, Jackson Lift Group, SASSI Lift Systems and Terry Lifts.

Oliver Greening, LIFTEX event director, commented:

“It has been a busy few years for the LEIA team developing the forthcoming exhibition. We are delighted to welcome so many familiar faces back to the event. . . .
It’s also a pleasure to be able to introduce so many new businesses to the show. In addition, we are thrilled that the European Lift Association has chosen to hold its General Assembly and Annual Conference in London on May 13-14 — which means it will certainly be a productive and focused week for the lift industry.”

In addition to the exhibition, LIFTEX will feature a free seminar program addressing key topics from industry professionals. Topics will include:

• Future development of British, European and international standards
• Lifts for evacuation: key considerations for building design and planning modernization
• Analog to fiber: understanding the options for lift emergency alarm communication to cope with the likely changes from copper to fiber
• Principles of lift modernization: key principles of the current standards and current challenges

For more information or to register, visit www.liftex2019.com.