Sideways lifts are here and we’re one step closer to living in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory
The lift system could revolutionise skyscrapers.
A lift system that uses magnets instead of cables and can move sideways has been demonstrated for the first time in Germany.
The first fully functional MULTI lift system has been unveiled at a purpose-built innovation test tower in Rottweil and is set to appear in a new building, the East Side Tower in Berlin.
Thyssenkrupp, the company behind the lift system, says MULTI can transport up to 50% more people and reduce peak power demand by as much as 60% when compared to conventional elevator systems.
Antony Wood, executive director of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat in Germany, said: “This is perhaps the biggest development in the elevator industry since the invention of the safety elevator some 165 years ago.
“MULTI… has the capacity to transform the industry at large, changing the way tall buildings are designed, and allowing for much more efficient core designs, as well as better connectivity in buildings.”
