The Paris district “La Defense” will become home to a spectacular new skyscraper, featuring thyssenkrupp’s unique TWIN elevators with two cabins instead of just one moving in the same shaft.
thyssenkrupp Elevator will deliver twelve TWIN elevator systems, a technology that increases transport capacity and improves energy efficiency. Applying the TWIN frees up floor space, as this technology transports more people without increasing the number of elevator shafts. The new tower will also include another twelve conventional elevators and escalators.
With a height of 220m, Hekla Tower will rise into the sky and enlighten the metropolitan skyline with an architectural highlight. Designed by the renowned architect Jean Nouvel, the spectacular building will become an iconic feature in the redesign of the district – including a green footpath modelled on the famous High Line in New York City. The construction is scheduled for completion by 2022.
“The forward-looking concept of the TWIN solution played a decisive role in the development of the project, as it perfectly accommodates the tower’s high standards and demanding transport capacity, without occupying additional floor-space with more elevator shafts,” comments Peter Walker, CEO of thyssenkrupp Elevator.
Hekla Tower has a total of 66,000 sqm of office space capable of hosting around 5,800 people, more than 2,500 sqm of terrace space and a wide range of restaurants, a business center, a 250-seat hall and much more.
thyssenkrupp Elevator is already providing outstanding urban mobility elsewhere in the heart of Europe: TWIN elevators operate in the high-rises D2 (Paris-La Defense), Odeon Tower(Montecarlo, Monaco) and IncityTower (Lyon, France). A fourth installation – in the Trinity Tower in La Defense – has already been confirmed.
Hekla Tower is the fifth building in Europe to take passengers to the top with TWIN elevators.
The architects of the Hekla building were particularly impressed by the advanced TWIN concept. By 2022, the new elevators will be moving people in the building at a speed of 7m/s. During the construction phase, a thyssenkrupp shaft climber grows with the shell of the building and ensures rapid transportation of people during construction.
TWIN in China too: TWIN solutions will also provide lifts for other great projects at global hotspots by 2022. In the heart of Chengdu, a financial centre of the central Chinese business district, Forte Financial Island IV is being built with two office towers, each 250m high. Here, a total of 24 TWIN elevators custom-made to the respective requirements of the towers are to be installed. Eight units each will reach maximum speeds of up to 2.5, 5 and 6 m/s respectively.
Featured photograph (courtesy: Thyssenkrupp) shows TWIN elevators running at Thyssenkrupp’s global headquarters at Essen, Germany.
