Updates on tall developments in Shenzhen, Nanjing and Shanghai

KONE Providing VT for Multitower Shenzhen Project

KONE will provide the vertical-transportation (VT) package for Shenzhen Gemdale Center, 48- and 39-story towers connected by a skybridge in Nanshan District High-Tech Industrial Park in Shenzhen, known as “China’s Silicon Valley.” The contract includes 47 MiniSpace® and nine MonoSpace® elevators and 10 TravelMasterTM escalators, along with KONE’s Destination Control and E-LinkTM remote-monitoring systems. Covering 280,000 m2, Shenzhen Gemdale Center will house offices for information- technology, communications and finance companies. The development features an R&D center, an 11-story podium and more than 1,170 underground parking spaces. Gemdale Properties and Investment Corp. are the developers, and Callison RTKL is the architect. Completion is anticipated in 2020.

67-Story Hotel/Residential Tower Jumeirah Nanjing Complete

With a design by Zaha Hadid Architects inspired by the “Age of Sail,” Dubai-based Jumeirah Group’s 67-story Jumeirah Nanjing is complete in the Hexi Business District of Nanjing, SkyRise Cities reported. Part of Jumeirah Group’s push into Asia, the structure has 212 hotel rooms on floors 39-67 and 49 residences. Floor-to- ceiling windows provide views of the Yangzte River and surrounding skyline. The lower portion of the tower will house “top-notch” restaurants.

Scenic Lifts Distinguish 200-m-Tall Tower in East Shanghai

Scenic lifts rising to the rooftop are among features that distinguish the 200-m-tall, 42-story Foster + Partners-designed China Resources Land Suhewan, which broke ground in September, the architecture firm announced. It will be the centerpiece of the Suhewan East Urban Complex in east Shanghai, a development that “aims to introduce a richer mix of functions to the predominantly residential area.” Situated next to an underground shopping center and metro connections, the tower is designed as “an animated backdrop to a new Suhewan Park” with flexible office floorplates and 360˚ panoramic views. The slender structure lets in plenty of natural light and has dark glazing to reduce glare.

Malaysian Company Confident Despite Government Cutbacks

The managing director of EITA Resources Bhd, an elevator and escalator supplier headquartered in Subang Jaya, Malaysia, is confident the company is diversified enough to withstand a government plan to postpone work and cut costs on expansion of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) system, for which EITA was to supply more than 400 units, The Edge reported. The completion date of LRT3 in the Klang Valley, for which EITA was to supply 95 elevators and 220 escalators, has been extended from 2020 to 2024, and costs are expected to be slashed on another transit project for which EITA was to supply more than 100 units. EITA Managing Director Fu Wing Hoong said the company’s revenue is strong, supported by work related to high-rise commercial and residential construction, a growing maintenance portfolio and diversification into power-substation construction.

A Dialogue Begins at First E2 Forum Frankfurt

Messe Frankfurt, organizer of the elevator and escalator event E2 Forum Frankfurt, reported that its approximately 420 participants “have taken a decisive step forward to the future of vertical and horizontal conveyance in buildings and urban areas.” Attendees of the inaugural September 18-19 event included planners, installers and operators of modern buildings and infrastructures. It took place in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Manufacturers of elevators, escalators, components and software from around the world exhibited. The 42 speakers united under the motto “Innovation, Digitalization and Sustainability in Tomorrow’s Buildings.” Their main subjects of the first day were elevators in building planning, digitalization concepts and Internet of Things-based solutions. On the second day, were digitalization, urbanization and sustainability, and integration of vertical/horizontal mobility in and between tomorrow’s buildings.

 “The dialogue between the elevator and escalator industry, as well as planners, installation specialists and operators, has begun,” commented Wolfgang Marzin, president and CEO of Messe Frankfurt. The next E2 Forum Frankfurt will be held in September 2020, again in Frankfurt am Main.