Wild sideways elevator moves one step closer to reality

With buildings climbing taller and the pace of urbanization going at full throttle, designing the next-generation elevator is an ambition poised to disrupt conventional tower architecture. German company ThyssenKrupp is hoping to lead the pack with its mind-boggling MULTI system—which uses rotating linear motors instead of cables, allowing for sideways movement and multiple elevator cabs running in the same shaft.

The company likens it to running multiple trains along a subway route. It means ultra-efficient elevator transit that can take you across a building as quickly as it can take you up it.

ThyssenKrupp via ArchDaily

ThyssenKrupp’s 800-foot-tall test tower for the system topped out in 2015. And now, three of the structure’s twelve elevator shafts are entirely dedicated to testing the MULTI system.

ThyssenKrupp

The first public building to feature the MULTI will be Berlin’s East Side Tower, slated for completion later in 2017. Get a closer look at the system in a newly released video.

Via: ArchDaily