VT Helped by Sustainability

Europe seems to have many of the same problems as the U.S. concerning the construction industry and vertical transportation (VT): high interest rates, a pandemic-inspired surge in remote working, a shortage of supplies and technicians, as well as inflation. According to ING, high interest rates and soaring building costs have drastically reduced the demand for new buildings in Europe. So far, ongoing projects and a heightened focus on sustainability have prevented construction volumes from stalling; however, it is projected that construction will shrink this year by 3.5% to EUR546 billion before recovering in 2025.

We focus this month on Sustainability. Basically, this means to be able to maintain or support a process over time without depleting physical or natural resources. Many in our industry are exploring ways of working sustainably. We all recognize that this planet is our only home to live on, but sustainability must also be financially feasible. Harvard Business School lists two ways to measure sustainable business practices: the effect a business has on the environment and the impact it has on society while still being profitable. Six articles highlight the industry’s effort to build for the future.

• Exploring a Greener Future. KONE participates in Nordic Block workshops to strategize to facilitate city blocks containing zero-emission buildings that are in harmony with nature and have holistic accessibility.
• Sky High by Sally Loh. Otis elevates transportation for an iconic smart building in Shanghai: the LEED-accredited New Bund Center. And it has robots!
• Championing Urbanization by Lindsay Fletcher. An interview with Florian Troesch, vice president of Schindler PORT technology at Schindler Group. He notes that 2.5 billion people will move to cities by 2050. The company is conferring with architects to understand how VT needs to change. (Also see Adaptable and Innovative on p. 100 for more on Schindler MetaCore, a product for when buildings need to change or add functions.)
• Sustainability in the Elevator Industry – Impact Review by TAK Mathews. This paper was presented at the International Elevator & Escalator Symposium in Edinburgh, Scotland. The author reviews the terms in use and notes that “whole life carbon” means emissions for the entire life cycle of equipment.
• The Gen360™ Platform, the Next Generation of Digital and Sustainable Elevators by Pascal Rebillard, Alper Caliskan and Vijay Lakamraju. Otis’ Gen360 is a digital elevator — a machine-room-less elevator with maintenance from inside the cab on a working platform.
• Accelerating Decarbonization by Fletcher. This is an interview with the managing director of KONE Singapore who says, “The built environment is responsible for 39% of energy-related carbon emissions.” She notes that lifts are helping buildings to become more sustainable.

A fascinating report by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, Year in Review – Tall Trends of 2023, details a record-breaking year. Completions of buildings more than 200 m or higher were up 14.2% over 2022. Of great interest to your author were the changes in where in the world these buildings have proliferated and how the function of tall buildings has changed. This is a must read.

Our Angie C. Baldwin interviewed Wittur Group’s former CEO Tom Stephenson while at interlift. The article, Improving All the Time, gives insight on the company’s new products and facilities.

Under the Safety banner, serious incidents are reviewed by Guangchi Liang in Analysis and Calculation of Elevator Car Fall Incidents Caused by Serious Damage of Diverter Pulley Bearing.

More Questions Than Answers by Eugene Gerden gives our readers a quick look at the Russian elevator industry in the last two years since the Ukraine invasion began. It seems that elevators and parts are easily available from China; however, technicians are scarce due to military mobilization.

This is an excellent book, filled with information for everyone’s taste. Please feel free to let me know your thoughts at ricia@elevatorworld.com.