Canada is a hotspot of tall-tower construction, as evidenced by these projects in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver.
Schindler to Outfit Toronto Tower with 38 Units
Schindler has been awarded a multimillion-U.S.-dollar contract to provide 32 elevators and six escalators to the 44-story Bay Adelaide East Office Tower & Podium in Toronto, slated for completion in 2015. Professional services firm Deloitte will be the anchor tenant, and the building will boast 980,000 sq. ft. of Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design Platinum-certified space. Schindler units and equipment, which include Schindler 7000 passenger elevators and PORT destination-dispatch technology, promise to conserve energy and enhance efficiency. The building was designed by KPMB and Adamson Associates. Brookfield Properties is the developer.
Global Tardif in Montreal Transit Projects
Global Tardif has signed an agreement with the Société de Transport de Montréal (STM) to supply and install 10 panoramic, heavy-duty machine-room-less (MRL) elevators in Montreal. Also, as an exclusive distributor of Fujitec Canada escalators, Global Tardif will be providing and installing 24 escalators on 11 of the metro’s 13 stations. This project is part of STM’s 2012-2015 Universal Access Development Plan; in all, more than CAD87 million (US$83 million) will be invested in making the STM’s network more universally accessible.
Additionally, Global Tardif is manufacturing and installing 15 panoramic, heavy-duty MRL elevators to AMT (Montreal transit agency) in several new stations scheduled for completion in late 2014. This large-scale AMT project involves the construction of 10 new stations, various railway trestles, overpasses, tunnels and walkways at city locations.
Brookfield Place Calgary Starts Construction
The first of two office towers at Brookfield Place Calgary in Calgary, Canada, began construction on October 30, the Calgary Herald reported. The 1.4-million-sq.-ft, 247-m-tall building comprises 56 stories and is expected to be complete in the latter half of 2017. Cenovus Energy will be the anchor tenant. Project partners are architects Fender Katsalidis Arney and Dialog, and construction manager EllisDon Corp. Upon completion, the tower will be the tallest building in western Canada.
Vancouver Council Approves Iconic Tower
In October 2013, a 52-story, 497-ft.-tall tower won zoning approval from the Vancouver City Council. The move paves the way for construction of the mixed-used building, located downtown overlooking the Granville Street Bridge. Designed by Danish architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group, the tower features a triangular base that morphs into a rectangle at the top. Its façade resembles a honeycomb.
Projects on the Way in China
Energy-efficient equipment headlines developments.
KONE Lands 165-Unit Order for Shanghai Project
KONE has won a contract to supply 165 units to the Shanghai mixed-use project Dazhongli, scheduled for completion in phases starting in 2016. The units, which boast an array of energy-efficient features, include 58 MiniSpace™ elevators, 49 MonoSpace® elevators and one TranSys™ vehicle elevator, as well as 57 TravelMaster® escalators. A joint project of developers HKR International Ltd. and Swire Properties Ltd., Dazhongli is envisioned as having two office buildings, a shopping mall and three luxury hotels covering 323,000 m2. KONE noted the taller of the two office buildings will represent its highest project in Puxi, Shanghai’s historic center.
Yungtay to Equip “Madrid”
Yungtay Elevator has signed an agreement with Henan Dong Feng Real Estate to provide 54 escalators, 35 elevators and 19 moving walks to the “Madrid” development in Dengzhou, China. The 260,000-m2 construction area is to include two malls, 10 residential buildings and one building each for commercial and hotel space.
Symax Lands Contracts Totaling US$5.3 Million
Toronto-based Symax Lift Co. Ltd. has won three contracts totaling CAD$5.5 million (US$5.3 million) to supply elevators to public and private housing projects in eastern and southwestern China. Symax manufactures elevators, escalators and chairlifts, and has a manufacturing facility in China. Contracts include sales of Symax’s Dingtai and Green elevator models. Delivery is expected by April 2014.
Mitsubishi Electric Lands 85-Unit Order
Mitsubishi Electric Corp. has received an order to deliver 66 elevators and 19 escalators to the mixed-use, 438-m-tall Wuhan Center, under construction in Wuhan, China. The order includes two elevators that can travel 600 mpm, carrying passengers from the basement to the 86th and 87th floors in 54 s. The elevators will be capable of capturing and reconverting generated energy and outfitted with permanent-magnet motors. Fifty of the elevators will be capable of traveling at 120 mpm. Mitsubishi and its Chinese partners – Shanghai Mitsubishi Elevator/Escalator Limited Liability Co. and Mitsubishi Electric Shanghai Electric Elevator Co., Ltd. – have delivered more than 400,000 units in China. The order for the 88-story Wuhan Center, which will house a Hyatt Regency hotel, offices and residences, is expected to be delivered in October.
Height Headlines around the World
Skyscrapers take on stunning shapes, and researchers aim to define how tall buildings are measured.
Tall-Building Website Debuts
The researchers who founded building database en.phorio.com have launched a new website, buildingheights.org, to gain exposure for a new height-ranking system that synthesizes the two most popular ranking methods — height to roof and height to top of ornament – to count ornaments in a building’s height only when its roof tapers into the ornament. In addition, Elevator World, Inc. plans to become a buildingheights.org partner. Among the website’s features is a ranking of the world’s 1,000 tallest buildings. “We believe this is the first such ranking in history to appear on one webpage, and we have worked hard to bring this absolutely up to date,” stated Daniel Kieckhefer of Phorio, adding that the volume of construction in Asia means the list is updated weekly.
Dubai Tops in Tallest Residential Towers
Seven of the 10 tallest residential towers in the world are in Dubai, according to building database Emporis. The four tallest are within several minutes of each other in the city’s Marina District. The buildings’ names and heights are: Princess Tower, 414 m; 23 Marina, 395 m; Elite Residence, 380 m; and The Torch, 337 m. The rest of the list is as follows:
- Q1 Tower, Gold Coast City, Australia, 322 m
- HHR Tower, Dubai, 317 m
- Ocean Heights, Dubai, 310 m
- Cayan Tower, Dubai, 307 m
- Etihad Tower 2, Abu Dhabi, 305 m
- Capital City Moscow Tower, Moscow, 302 m
The Persian Gulf region lends itself to tall-building construction due to availability of capital and urban planning not being tied to preserving the existing skyline, Emporis notes.
Beijing’s CCTV Headquarters Wins Worldwide Honor
Following a nearly yearlong selection process, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) bestowed its annual Best Tall Building Worldwide honor on CCTV Headquarters in Beijing. CCTV was chosen from best-building winners from four regions (ELEVATOR WORLD, December 2013). The honor was announced during the CTBUH Awards Symposium on November 7, 2013, in Chicago. Rem Koolhaas, Office for Metropolitan Architecture founding partner, accepted the award for CCTV. Noting that CCTV changed traditional thinking about skyscraper design, CTBUH stated: “Instead of competing in the race for the ultimate height and style through a traditional two-dimensional tower soaring skyward, CCTV’s loop poses a truly 3D experience, culminating in a 75-m cantilever.”
Cayan, World’s Tallest Twisting Tower, Opens in Dubai
Cayan Tower (formerly Infinity Tower, ELEVATOR WORLD, November 2011), the world’s tallest twisting tower at 75 stories, is now open in Dubai, Building Design + Construction reports. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the team behind the Sears Tower in Chicago and Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the residential building’s award-winning architecture features rectangular floors rotating around a cylindrical shaft housing elevators and other infrastructure. Depending on height and orientation, floors offer waterfront views of either Dubai Marina or the Persian Gulf.
U.K.’s Amalgamated Lifts Celebrates 25 Years
On November 14, Kent, U.K.-based Amalgamated Lifts Ltd. celebrated 25 years of incorporation. The elevator installation, modernization and maintenance provider has grown significantly since its founding. With more than 60 employees, it was named Best Medium-Sized Business by the Bromley Business Awards in 2011 (ELEVATOR WORLD, January 2012). Thus far, Amalgamated has installed more than 700 lifts, maintains and services approximately 2,000 units annually and has performed more than GBP40 million (US$64.3 million) in lift repairs.
Reflecting on the company’s evolution, Director and Founder Peter Edler stated:
“It’s been a long journey from small beginnings. Graham Clarke and I began the business from my spare bedroom with a fax machine and a mobile phone the size of four bricks. Our first job was to install one scenic glass lift and one standard passenger lift in Manchester. We have gone on to complete our first destination-control system at Westferry Circus, accomplished a GBP2.2-million (US$3.5-million) contract at Phoenix Community Housing and developed technology to comply with Shabbat law. Recruiting Simon Smith has enabled our service and repairs department to grow continuously every year.”
LIFTINSTITUUT Certifies Systems from Japanese Manufacturers
Mitsubishi Electric Corp.’s Smooth Emergency Terminal Slowdown System (SETS) and Hitachi Elevator’s high-speed lifts have been certified through global certifier LIFTINSTITUUT. Considered a lift safety component, SETS is one of the space-saving features of Mitsubishi Electric’s NEXIEZ-MRL energy-efficient, machine-room-less elevator. According to a company spokesperson:
“SETS can drastically reduce the pit depth and overhead, rather than the application of the conventional system, because the SETS can smoothly change the overspeed value to a lower level [toward] the shaft terminal and, therefore, reduce the buffer stroke simply.”
LIFTINSTITUUT certified Hitachi’s high-speed lifts with Energy Performance class A according to VDI 4707-1. Existing installations were examined in the review, the results of which offer the company “new chances and sales opportunities in this environmentally conscious world,” Hitachi said.
Schindler Unveils New Green Elevator Plant in Slovakia
In October, Schindler announced the opening of its newest green elevator factory in Dunasjká Streda, part of a global growth plan that also includes new production facilities in India, China and North America. Schindler plans to open a total of six new green plants by 2015. Awarded a BREEAM® “excellent” rating in sustainable building design, the Dunasjká Streda plant covers 36,000 m2 and includes a logistics center for Schindler’s European market, which the new factory serves.
China’s Southeast Elevator Recognized
Southeast Elevator was presented the “2013 China Real Estate Growth Value Brand Top Ten Suppliers” award by the China Real Estate Association and China Real Estate Assessment Center as part of their September 17, 2013 “2013 China Real Estate Enterprises Brand Value Evaluation Study Report.” According to the Shanghai Elevator Trade Association, the company was chosen for “strong technical skills, good brand recognition, excellent product quality and [a] perfect service system.” Southeast works with many well-known real-estate developers.
The organizations also ranked what they considered the top-10 real-estate development and corporate brand value companies in the country. China Overseas, Evergrande, Vanke, Poly, Green, Lake, Shimao, Guangzhou R&F, China Merchants and China Resources Land Housing made the list in the third-annual event.
Canada’s RFID Auto Elevator System Attracts Buyers
Vertitron Midwest Inc. (VMI)’s radio-frequency identification (RFID) automobile elevator system has boosted sales of a 12-story luxury condominium tower in Victoria, Siemens said in October 2013. Marketed as a first in the city with a “James Bond allure,” the two-lift tandem was developed by VMI for ThyssenKrupp Elevator Americas to supply. The system is wireless, a feature enabled by a Siemens SIMATIC S7-1200 programmable-logic controller, a SIMATIC RF600 RFID system and third-party passive RFID windshield tags.
Upon arriving, homeowners drive their cars into the building’s ground-floor parking facility and push a button on their keychain fobs to call a lift. They then drive into the cabin, where the automated system reads an RFID tag on the car’s windshield to automatically take them to one of four secure parking floors. The system works in reverse when owners want to leave.
LiftAsia ‘14 Announced for Malaysia
UBM Malaysia has announced LiftAsia ‘14, to take place on June 10-12 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The international elevator/escalator technology exhibition and conference will hold its third edition with the support of the Construction Industry Development Board and Institute of Engineering, Malaysia. Expected to draw 200 exhibiting companies from more than 25 countries, the expo will include national pavilions for China, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Germany, Thailand and India.
A technical-papers presentation on the theme of “Innovative Technologies for Modern Designs & Efficiency” will supplement the experience for a projected 13,000 attendees. For more information, contact the organizer at (603) 2176-8788, e-mail: cheanfei.ong@ubm.com or website: www.liftasia.org.
Avire Light Curtains Available in Russia
Lift safety and communication systems provider Avire has chosen Lift Fit as its distributor in Russia. Lift Fit supplies the Russian market with components and spare parts for lifts and escalators from manufacturers including Otis, Schindler, KONE and ThyssenKrupp Elevator. Its owner, Vladimir Sakin, explained, “Lift Fit will supply light curtains from Avire’s Memco and TL Jones brands. The vast Russian market has great potential for a mutually beneficial partnership. . . .”
Elevator Company UAE to Distribute Saudi-Made Units
Elevator Company UAE has signed an agreement to be the U.A.E.’s exclusive distributor of Japanese Fuji lifts manufactured, installed and maintained by Gulf Elevators and Escalators Co. of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, The Saudi Gazette reports. Gulf Elevators Executive Director Eng. Meteib Bin Fahd Taais said the agreement includes a plan to expand the market across the Persian Gulf and North Africa regions.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Metro Connector Has 16 New Escalators
Sixteen new ThyssenKrupp Elevator escalators were delivered to the site where a connector between Baku Metro’s Avtovagzal and Memar Ajami-2 stations is nearing completion, Azeri-Press Agency reported in October. Besides escalators, station upgrades throughout the Baku Metro include new fire-protection systems, service stairs, electrical substations and technical-service areas.
Magnetek Opens Expanded Location
On the heels of extending its partnership with the National Lift Tower for a third year (ELEVATOR WORLD, November 2013), the U.K. subsidiary of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin-based Magnetek, Inc. has opened an expanded sales and support office in Bedford. It is located at Unit 3 Bedford Business Centre, Mile Road, Bedford, MK42 9TW and can be contacted via phone: (44) 0-1234-349191 and fax: (44) 0-1234-268955.
Brian Peterson, general manager of U.K. operations for Magnetek, said the location promises to help retain and grow business for the company, which provides integrated digital motion-control systems for high-rise, high-speed elevators. “The increased warehouse space allows us to significantly increase our stock holding and fulfill our commitment to same-day dispatch on all products,” he stated. “In addition, we are now able to further develop our training and support facilities to ensure we continue to improve our service to our customers, an area we view as a key differentiator.”
Anlev Opens Brazil Office
Anlev Lifts and Escalators, a division of the Analogue Group, has opened a sales office in São Paulo, Brazil. Anlev Director of Transport Equipment & Solutions John W. Middlemiss made the announcement during the NT Expo in São Paulo in November. Industry veteran Philippe Laburthe will run the office. He can be reached at phone: (55) 011-9419-20056.
Work on London’s One Blackfriars Underway
Construction is progressing on One Blackfriars, a 52-story tower for London from developer St George. The Ian Simpson-designed building on the banks of the River Thames is intended to provide 274 luxury apartments, as well as accompanying retail, hotel and restaurant space. Its curved shape is intended to allow uninterrupted views of London’s skyline, including the financial district of Canary Wharf and the Tower of London. A landscaped piazza is to feature soft landscaping and water features. The project is due for completion in 2018.
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