Horizontal is the new Vertical : The Future of Sideways Elevators

Horizontal ... is the new Vertical "MULTI" is world's first "rope-free" elevator. The innovative project was recently introduced by German elevator manufacturer ThyssenKrupp. Their team claims that this disruptive new tech will usher in a new world for elevators and toss away 160 years of rope-dependency. The pilot project uses linear motors to move multiple cars within a single shaft both vertically and horizontally. What I found especially interesting is that the project drew inspiration from rapid transit trains; technologically and in terms of circulation. Trains work most efficiently in loops, also what MULTI is doing. Trains connect different geographies and neighborhoods within a city. MULTI argues that skyscrapers are becoming more and more like cities and that we need to discover more efficient ways of connecting the different neighborhoods that reside on each floor. The proposal is a dynamic solution towards more efficient buildings. As a designer myself, I'm very curious to see how this might change the form and design of buildings as we enter the 21st century.

"Buildings are becoming like vertical cities, and they need a FLEXIBLE TRANSPORT SYSTEM similar to a metro. SPEED alone does not solve the challenges posed by tall buildings." - Markus Jetter (Head of Research, thyssenkrupp Elevator)

Horizontal elevators solve a huge waste problem. Across the globe there are more than 12 million elevators that make seven billion trips and shuffle over one billion people every day. Over the course of a lifetime in New York City (where I live) workers spend a cumulative 16.6 years waiting for elevators. (Study conducted by IBM in 2010). That's a massive amount of time. In the city that never sleeps... time is money! Space is expensive. As cities grow and expand, traditional elevator banks and shafts will become increasingly cost prohibitive. The infrastructure within buildings will need to slim down in order to keep up with growth.

Re-thinking Monumentality

The skyscraper formula has been passed around the world for decades now. Everyone, from just about every geography, is building essentially the same thing. Design a floor plate around an elevator shaft, extrude it dozens or even hundreds of times. Boom, there you have it. A "modern" city. Monumental buildings are well overdue for something new. Elevators like MULTI provide a new spine for buildings to adapt to and learn from. There's an inherent flexibility embedded in the concept of looping elevator routes.

What might these new buildings look like? Buildings today are so square. "Less is a bore."

Here's hoping that new infrastructure will usher in creative form-making and city-thinking. Let's see where Horizontal might take us...

Sources : MULTI . Elevator Study by IBM in 2010 . Skyscraper Chart