KONE Corporation has announced a new elevator technology that could make it possible for supertall buildings to reach greater heights by eliminating several problems of existing elevator technology. The firm's new UltraRope hoisting system uses a rope with a carbon-fiber core and high-friction coating, rather than conventional steel rope. UltraRope is comparatively lightweight, requiring 15% less energy for moving hoisting ropes, compensating ropes, counterweights, elevator cars, and passengers, according to KONE.
In addition, carbon fiber resonates at a different frequency than steel and other typical building materials, a property that is predicted to reduce downtime attributable to building sway. KONE estimates that the product will only have to be replaced half as often as steel rope. The manufacturer claims that the new technology will make it practical for elevators to travel heights of up to 1,000 meters—twice as high as is possible with current technology. (Elevators in the Burj Khalifa, an 828-meter-tall building, will travel a maximum of 504 meters.)
The technology could help facilitate the creation of high-density housing and other urban projects. "This is finally a breakthrough on one of the 'holy grail' limiting factors of tall buildings: that is, the height to which a single elevator could operate before the weight of the steel rope becomes unsupportable over that height," says Antony Wood, Executive Director of the Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
(http://download.kone.com/ultrarope/index.htm)
Related Stories
| May 7, 2012
4 more trends in higher-education facilities
Our series on college buildings continues with a look at new classroom designs, flexible space, collaboration areas, and the evolving role of the university library.
| May 7, 2012
Best AEC Firms: MHTN Architects nine decades of dedication to Utah
This 65-person design firm has served Salt Lake City and the state of Utah for the better part of 90 years.
| May 7, 2012
2012 BUILDING TEAM AWARDS: TD Ameritrade Park
The new stadium for the College World Series in Omaha combines big-league amenities within a traditional minor league atmosphere.
| May 7, 2012
2012 BUILDING TEAM AWARDS: Fort Belvoir Community Hospital
A new military hospital invokes evidence-based design to create a LEED-certified facility for the nation’s soldiers and their families.
| May 7, 2012
2012 BUILDING TEAM AWARDS: Audie L. Murphy VA Hospital
How a Building Team created a high-tech rehabilitation center for wounded veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
| May 3, 2012
2012 BUILDING TEAM AWARDS: Rush University Medical Center
This fully integrated Building Team opted for a multi-prime contracting strategy to keep construction going on Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center, despite the economic meltdown.
| May 3, 2012
U of Michigan team looking to create highly efficient building envelope designs
The system combines the use of sensors, novel construction materials, and utility control software in an effort to create technology capable of reducing a building’s carbon footprint.
| May 3, 2012
Best commercial modular buildings and marketing programs recognized
Judges scored entries on architectural excellence, technical innovation, cost effectiveness, energy efficiency, and calendar days to complete.
| May 3, 2012
Zero Energy Research Lab opens at North Texas
The living lab—the only one of its kind in Texas—is designed to test various technologies and systems in order to achieve a net-zero consumption of energy.