Archinect - News

The sideways elevator that will revolutionize building has arrived

2017-07-11T13:06:00-04:00

Until now, architects have had to design around the elevator shafts, which can comprise 40 percent of a building's core. Multi could allow them to install elevators almost anywhere, including the perimeter. Strong magnets on every Multi car work with a magnetized coil running along the elevator hoistway’s guide rails to make the cars float. Turning these coils on and off creates magnetic fields strong enough to pull the car in various directions.

After three years of work, ThyssenKrupp, a company synonymous with elevators, is testing the Multi in a German tower and finalizing the safety certification. Zooming up, down, left, right, and diagonally the new elevator was just sold to a residential building under construction in Berlin, and is expected to be sold to other developers soon.

"Multi moves to-and-fro through exchangers, which you can think of as sophisticated railway switches that guide the cars. Bearings called "slings" mounted to every elevator car allow it to change direction—say, move to the left, or even go diagonally—while keeping the car level with the ground. “The cabin never moves during an exchange,” company CEO Patrick Bass says.

Image courtesy of ThyssenKrupp

Designed to move 1,000 to 1,400 feet per minute, far slower than the 1,968 fpm experienced in Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the new elevator prioritizes volume over speed. (Speeds over 2,000 feet per minute lead to ear problems and nausea.) Free of the cable...

ThyssenKrupp's cable-free elevator test tower tops out in less than 10 months

2015-07-31T15:35:00-04:00

ThyssenKrupp's MULTI elevator test tower is happening, indeed — and at a seemingly impressive rate. Less than 10 months after starting construction, the currently 232-meter structure in the German city of Rottweil recently celebrated its topping out. ThyssenKrupp is aiming to have the tower fully built and go into operation by the end of 2016. Once complete, the company will begin testing the first units of their cable-free MULTI elevator system, which they unveiled late last year.

ThyssenKrupp credits the tower's smooth construction progress through the use of "an innovative slipforming technique — all on time and on budget", and they obviously won't be slowing down anytime soon. The final glass story and the top of the elevator shafts will be added to the tower over the next two weeks, bringing the structure up to 244 meters. The tower will then reach its 246 height when the facade is complete.

Interior work for the tower is scheduled for mid-August. Building services and elevat...

Lexus offers a glimpse of a functional hoverboard prototype

2015-06-25T18:18:00-04:00

Watch out, world. Toyota is heading back to the future. The automaker has hinted it’s looking into flying cars. Now its Lexus luxury brand has actually built a working model of a hoverboard.

Social media lit up last night after Lexus revealed a tantalizing promo video for a "functional hoverboard" prototype. Smoke can be seen curling up from the skateboard-like design, which features a bamboo deck and "the iconic Lexus spindle grille." The prototype uses liquid nitrogen-cooled superconductors and magnets, a technology already implemented in Japan's high-speed rail lines to eliminate friction. While the video appears to show the board hovering on a regular surface, reports indicate that there is a metal track beneath the custom-designed skate park, which was built in a town outside of Barcelona.

If the video makes you nostalgic for Back to the Future, it's no coincidence. A more detailed release is slated for Oct. 21, the day that Marty McFly traversed back to the future.

Actually, this isn't actually the world's first overboard prototype. Hendo Hoverboard is a crowd-sourced technology designed by Greg Henderson, an architect by training. Henderson joined Archinect Sessio...

Up and Down, Side to Side; ThyssenKrupp's cable-free MULTI elevator to begin testing in 2016

2014-12-01T17:37:00-05:00

Many of us who have ridden inside an elevator since its invention 160 years ago are accustomed to hearing its ominous hums and creaks, as well as stories of malfunctioning elevators that cause people to be stuck inside for hours. So, the idea of hopping into a cable-free elevator in a mid to high-rise building can sound both thrilling and nerve-wracking. That idea is soon to become a reality for global transportation manufacturer ThyssenKrupp, who is set out to test the first units of their cable-free MULTI elevator system once the testing tower in Rottweil, Germany is complete by the end of 2016.

MULTI's design is derived from the company's TWIN control system and safety features. Deemed as the world's first cable-free elevator, MULTI includes a multi-level brake system and multiple self-propelled cabins that can be incorporated within the same elevator shaft.

Operating on a circular system, the elevators will be able to move vertically and horizontally in a loop at a speed of 5 m...

Designer Uses Magnetized Clay to Create Radical Forms

2014-07-16T18:22:00-04:00

Magnets might hold mysterious appeal for some, but for Jolan Van der Wiel, they’re just another tool. For the past few years, the Dutch designer has been experimenting with magnetism to shape and create objects like violent looking stools and futuristic couture dresses [...] He envisions that someday—with a big enough magnet, of course—we could use this same principle to shape larger architectural pieces.