Report explores potential for rope-less and multidirectional elevators in tall buildings

A new report by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) investigates the potential for rope-less and multidirectional elevator cabins for high-rise buildings.

The technology runs on a series of seamless loops, powered by magnetic levitation. These rope-less and multidirectional elevator cabins could follow multiple routes within a given building.

This would reduce the number of shafts needed and increase rentable area, while also allowing elevators more options in terms of where they stop across a building’s dimensions. This technology could be paired with skybridges and skyspaces to link communities together at height.

This concept could bolster “the critical link between a piece of architecture and the urban sphere, while combating some of the insularity endemic to skyscrapers,” according to CTBUH. The report is the result of two years of research by the CTBUH Research Office in Venice, CTBUH staff, professionals in the field, and a research team of architecture and supporting academic advisors. It is part of a series of research reports that offer insight into specific areas of skyscraper research.