We begin this new year fittingly, with a celebration of our industry’s outstanding work. The eight winners of the 2024 ELEVATOR WORLD Project of the Year Awards are featured in this issue, and we extend hearty congratulations to the companies and individuals who shared them with us. The winners are:
- Elevators, New Construction. Schindler Elevator Corp. for Banque Nationale, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Elevators, Modernization. TK Elevator for the Humboldt Bank Building, San Francisco, California, U.S.
- Escalators, New Construction. Otis Elevator Co. for the Elizabeth Line, London Underground and Railway, London, U.K.
- Escalators, Modernization. Otis for Singapore Mass Rapid Transit, Singapore
- Inclined Lifts. Hill Hiker for the KSA Expo 2020 Pavilion, Dubai, U.A.E.
- Platform Lifts and Stairway Chairlifts. Day Elevator & Lift for Earl Hall, Columbia University, New York, New York, U.S.
- Private-Residence Lifts. Global Tardif and ElPro Elevators & Lifts for Crescent Heights in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Special-Purpose Lifts. Eshel Lifts Ltd. for CASA Boutique Hotel in Nahariya, Israel
Several additional features this issue focus on major industry events that were held in the last quarter of 2023, including interlift 2023 in Germany, the Global Elevator Exhibition (GEE) in Italy and the International Elevator Escalator Symposium (IEES) in Scotland. Angie C. Baldwin reported on interlift 2023 in Big Show, Big Changes. The event in Augsburg, Germany, was a roaring success with almost 19,000 visitors and 500 booths. There were many new inventions displayed. The accompanying VFA Forum proved popular and well attended. GEE Milan, also by Baldwin, was a first-time exhibition that attracted OEMs and many others to exhibit at Fiera Milano. There was an excellent conference in combination with the expo. Just a few weeks later, Champagne, Castles and Collaboration by Kaija Wilkinson highlights the fourth IEES, a collaboration of Liftinstituut and ELEVATOR WORLD. A famous hotel across from a castle brought together leaders to discuss pressing subjects.
Our Focus this issue is Digitalization, and there are three articles on the topic.
- Connected Lifts. Digital Evolution. by Julio Gil and Pedro Fernández. This is a wide-ranging article on all the many new forms of computer, elevator and human interaction now and in the future.
- Rethinking IoT in the Elevator Industry by Rob Wurth. The author estimates that 6.5% of elevators use the Internet of Things (IoT). He recommends the industry rethink IoT usage, so we don’t lose control over its impact on customers.
- IoT Takes the Elevator World Into Industry 5.0 by Christian-Erik Thoeny. Standalone elevators are being replaced with networked VT systems with a common operating system.
Among our other offerings this issue is Accelerating Decarbonization by Lindsay Fletcher. The author interviews KONE Singapore Managing Director Sylvia Koh-Gratton, who notes that the built environment is responsible for 39% of energy-related carbon emissions. She emphasizes how lifts are helping buildings become more sustainable.
We hope you enjoy this issue, and as always, we welcome your feedback and ideas. We wish you a happy and prosperous 2024.
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