The world’s first ropeless, horizontal-vertical lift has been unveiled.
Designed by lift manufacturer ThyssenKrupp, it has been installed inside a purpose-built 246m innovation test tower in Germany.
Instead of one cabin per shaft moving up and down, the “MULTI” system offers multiple cabins operating in a loop, like a metro system inside a building.
It requires fewer and smaller shafts than conventional elevators and can increase the building’s usable area by up to 25%, representing extra revenues from the additional rentable/leasable space.
Present elevator-escalator footprints can occupy up to 40% of a high rise building’s floor space, depending on the building height.
European developer OVG Real Estate plans to become the lift maker’s first customer, installing the MULTI in the new East Side Tower building in Berlin, next to the Mercedes-Benz Arena.
