# The means of elevation thread (escalator, elevators etc)



## Suburbanist (Dec 25, 2009)

Skyscrapers come in many shape, forms and heights. They have different construction techniques, design, they use different materials but they all need a common feature: means of elevation.

I actually think means of elevation is what distinguish, universally, skyscrapers from other (contemporary, modern standards of visiting/living) buildings. 

In this context, I have some questions for those experts on the subject.


(1) Is there any building with 20 or more floors where escalator (moving staircases) are the primary form of access instead of elevators (lifts)?

(2) Where is the highest panoramic elevator that is not part of an observation tower or similar structure?

(3) Do you think ultra-modern centrally controlled "intelligent" elevators will catch on? Here, I'm referring to those systems where, instead of pushing a button inside the elevator, you type the floor you want to go in a panel, then a computer calculates which is the best way to move dozens of people through many lifts and just diplays which one you should take (e.g., no floor buttons inside the elevator itself).


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## Kyll.Ing. (Nov 26, 2012)

Nice thread!

I've always wondered if there could be a way of making a system of lifts use one shaft to go up in a tower, and another to go down. It would require a paternoster-type setup to traverse from the "up" shaft to the "down" shaft, but under a continuous traffic load, it would be a pretty efficient system, allowing for multiple cars to use the same shafts and drastically shorten the queues in, say, skylobbies (one door for lifts always going up, one door for lifts always going down). A "vertical metro" if you'd like.

Would be a nightmare when there are few passengers, though. Imagine wanting to go from 63rd floor to ground floor and home for dinner, and find that the car is currently on floor 62. Also, I can see maintenance being a problem. Would such a system have any merit?


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## Highcliff (May 4, 2006)

look at a curious example...
umeda sky building in osaka has escalators almost on the top....








http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4002.html


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## heightincreasing (Dec 12, 2012)

are they outside on that picture that would be scary if they are.... could fall off.


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## bolg (Aug 21, 2012)

Suburbanist said:


> (3) Do you think ultra-modern centrally controlled "intelligent" elevators will catch on? Here, I'm referring to those systems where, instead of pushing a button inside the elevator, you type the floor you want to go in a panel, then a computer calculates which is the best way to move dozens of people through many lifts and just diplays which one you should take (e.g., no floor buttons inside the elevator itself).


This would be interesting. However, how would the computer handle people getting on at different floors? Just run the algorithm once (e.g. at ground level) per "cycle" and then just not optimize the ride for everyone who gets on between start and finish?


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## Hallavaara (Nov 6, 2010)

bolg said:


> This would be interesting. However, how would the computer handle people getting on at different floors? Just run the algorithm once (e.g. at ground level) per "cycle" and then just not optimize the ride for everyone who gets on between start and finish?


One solution is the have the "intelligent control" system set up in the lobby and have rest of the floors operate the normal way. The main use of these optimized elevators is in office buildings with the 20+ floors, typically the main usage peak for the lifts is in the morning when people need to get to their floor from the lobby.
usually there not such a clear peak when people are leaving work, also if the office building is multi-tenant, there probably is not much need for use the lifsts to go from one floor to the other.


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## Busiouty (Jan 3, 2013)

are they outside on that picture that would be scary if they are.... could fall off.


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## Innsertnamehere (Jun 8, 2010)

interesting article on evelator technologies..

http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1309571--double-deck-elevators-rise-as-tall-buildings-test-limits


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## bolg (Aug 21, 2012)

Hallavaara said:


> One solution is the have the "intelligent control" system set up in the lobby and have rest of the floors operate the normal way. The main use of these optimized elevators is in office buildings with the 20+ floors, typically the main usage peak for the lifts is in the morning when people need to get to their floor from the lobby.
> usually there not such a clear peak when people are leaving work, also if the office building is multi-tenant, there probably is not much need for use the lifsts to go from one floor to the other.


That's true. There are some bottleneck issues to be solved though. For office buildings; how about swiping your office access card at a central terminal instead of typing it in to increase the passenger flow? The you swipe it again inside the elevator so that the system knows you're on board the designated elevator and not still waiting.


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## Hallavaara (Nov 6, 2010)

^^ in these intelligently controlled systems, it's quite typical to have the buildings access control to be integrated in to the system. like you have to swipe your access card on the panel before you can enter the floor.

you only swipe before you enter the elevator, the control system calculates how long it'll wait before the elevator closes doors. 

the increased security is actually the other major selling point of these intelligent systems, the other being increased efficiency.


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