Having to replace an escalator in a public facility of any kind is a major headache for the building’s management—all that debris and noise, not to mention the inconvenience to visitors and the annoying expense.
Imagine what it would be like to have to replace more than a dozen escalators, in a facility that might have to host a hundred thousand visitors on a busy day.
At Detroit’s Cobo Center, 14 glass balustrade escalators have been fully updated over the last two years, with more to come. The work has been clean and quiet, allowing building management to conduct business as usual.
Credit for this accomplishment goes to EcoMod, a complete escalator modernization system from Finnish vertical transport manufacturer KONE. The EcoMod system replaces the entire inner workings of an escalator unit without removing the supporting truss. “The escalators are equivalent to brand-new units but without the hassle,” says Claude Molinari, Cobo Center’s Assistant General Manager.
Meeting the needs of year-round activity at busy, busy Cobo
Opened in 1960 and expanded in 1989, Cobo Center is one of the country’s largest convention sites. The facility hosts events about 320 days a year, including the two-week-long North American International Auto Show each January. Daily attendance can reach 100,000. The center’s escalators are critical to moving people through four levels of space, but scant attention had been paid to them for decades, and they were prone to frequent breakdowns. By 2010, they had become a detriment to serving current clients and attracting future shows.
That’s when the center’s owner, Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority, launched a multi-year, $300 million improvement and expansion program. This time the escalators would be overhauled. The question was how.
“We needed to replace the escalators, but we also had to stay open,” says Molinari. “We have several events that use every square inch of space in the building. We can’t close pieces of it. To tell someone that one-third of the building you normally occupy is not available this year would not be acceptable.”
Another consideration was the restaurants and retailers that operate beneath some of the trusses. A tear-out would mean those businesses would have to shut down for the duration. Again, unacceptable.
Avoiding total replacement
Total tear-out, the traditional escalator replacement method, was deemed impractical. “Total replacement is major construction,” says David Paxson, Project Manager and KONE Detroit Branch Manager. “The cost to bring in a general contractor to tear the building apart in a way that allows the truss to be removed is pretty expensive.”
Total replacements usually require cutting holes in roofs or façades because materials and equipment are too large to transport through the doors and windows. “It’s usually done at night, so you’re not doing heavy lifting around the public, which makes it even more expensive,” says Paxson.
With the custom-fabricated EcoMod retrofit option, it wasn’t necessary to touch the drywall, cladding, or any other parts of the building, according to KONE’s Kellie Lindquist, LEED Green Associate. The EcoMod components were built in modules that fit on a conventional skid and were assembled on site.
The Cobo project has been phased, starting with the escalators in poorest condition: 12 in 2011, two in 2012. Five more are in progress. During the first phase, crews took on four escalators at a time at opposite sides of the building.
The process entailed enclosing the workspace with temporary privacy walls, removing the old units, and cleaning and painting the trusses. The drive module was installed at the top, the turnaround station at the bottom. On the incline, brackets were welded to the truss, track was anchored to the brackets, and steps were laid atop the track. New balustrade and handrails were the final touches. It took about 10 weeks to complete four escalators.
The new units meet building codes that were not in place when the original escalators were installed. They come with energy-saving features such as a lubrication-free step chain, power regeneration, and LED lighting. They’re also equipped with missing step detectors, handrail speed sensors, a narrowed step-to-skirt gap, and other current safety features.
“The technology that gets installed is the same technology as if you put in all brand new,” says Lindquist. “We’re just installing it using a different method.”
Cobo Center’s Molinari says he conducted a cost comparison between total replacement and the KONE method and was able to document a 50% savings for the facility using the EcoMod system.
Molinari says he enjoys greater peace of mind knowing today’s visitors have a safer, quieter, more pleasant experience than in the past. “I was somewhat skeptical at first,” says Molinari. “I knew I had to accept a certain amount of inconvenience, but I was surprised how little interruption it caused. For the most part, people had no idea the escalators were being worked on.”
Related Stories
| Jan 21, 2011
Upscale apartments offer residents a twist on modern history
The Goodwynn at Town: Brookhaven, a 433,300-sf residential and retail building in DeKalb County, Ga., combines a historic look with modern amenities. Atlanta-based project architect Niles Bolton Associates used contemporary materials in historic patterns and colors on the exterior, while concealing a six-level parking structure on the interior.
| Jan 21, 2011
Music festival’s new home showcases scenic setting
Epstein Joslin Architects, Cambridge, Mass., designed the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport, Mass., to showcase the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, as well at the site’s ocean views.
| Jan 20, 2011
Worship center design offers warm and welcoming atmosphere
The Worship Place Studio of local firm Ziegler Cooper Architects designed a new 46,000-sf church complex for the Pare de Sufrir parish in Houston.
| Jan 20, 2011
Construction begins on second St. Louis community center
O’Fallon Park Recreation Complex in St. Louis, designed by local architecture/engineering firm KAI Design & Build, will feature an indoor aquatic park with interactive water play features, a lazy river, water slides, laps lanes, and an outdoor spray and multiuse pool.
| Jan 19, 2011
Industrial history museum gets new home in steel plant
The National Museum of Industrial History recently renovated the exterior of a 1913 steel plant in Bethlehem, Pa., to house its new 40,000-sf exhibition space. The museum chose VOA Associates, which is headquartered in Chicago, to complete the design for the exhibit’s interior. The exhibit, which has views of five historic blast furnaces, will feature artifacts from the Smithsonian Institution to illustrate early industrial America.
| Jan 19, 2011
Baltimore mixed-use development combines working, living, and shopping
The Shoppes at McHenry Row, a $117 million mixed-use complex developed by 28 Walker Associates for downtown Baltimore, will include 65,000 sf of office space, 250 apartments, and two parking garages. The 48,000 sf of main street retail space currently is 65% occupied, with space for small shops and a restaurant remaining.
| Jan 19, 2011
Biomedical research center in Texas to foster scientific collaboration
The new Health and Biomedical Sciences Center at the University of Houston will facilitate interaction between scientists in a 167,000-sf, six-story research facility. The center will bring together researchers from many of the school’s departments to collaborate on interdisciplinary projects. The facility also will feature an ambulatory surgery center for the College of Optometry, the first of its kind for an optometry school. Boston-based firms Shepley Bulfinch and Bailey Architects designed the project.
| Jan 19, 2011
Extended stay hotel aims to provide comfort of home
Housing development company Campus Apartments broke ground on a new extended stay hotel that will serve the medical and academic facilities in Philadelphia’s University City, including the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The 11,000-sf hotel will operate under Hilton’s Homewood Suites brand, with 136 suites with full kitchens and dining and work areas. A part of the city’s EnergyWorks loan program, the project aims for LEED with a green roof, low-flow fixtures, and onsite stormwater management. Local firms Alesker & Dundon Architects and GC L.F. Driscoll Co. complete the Building Team.
| Jan 19, 2011
Large-Scale Concrete Reconstruction Solid Thinking
Driven by both current economic conditions and sustainable building trends, Building Teams are looking more and more to retrofits and reconstruction as the most viable alternative to new construction. In that context, large-scale concrete restoration projects are playing an important role within this growing specialty.