The installation of double deck elevators in the Lotte World Tower, earned Otis Korea Elevator the Project of the Year 2018 prize, awarded by Elevator World magazine in the category “Elevators, new construction “, for the installation of the longest world double deck elevator and also the fastest up to the present day. The whole installation includes 30 elevators: 11 unidades Skyrise® (which includes two double deck) and 19 Gen 2®elevators, as well as 19 escalators within the highest vertical structure in the country.

 

Elevators

The “Sky Shuttle” two story or double deck elevator , one cabin attached on the top of the other, in the same shuttle , travels 496 meters from the second basement to the observation deck on the 121st floor of the tower. So, in the same trip, can transport 54 passengers to the top in a minute. It is worth remembering that Otis installed the first two-story elevator of the world in the New York City in 1931.
The two-story tower elevators not only travel further than any other elevator of this type, but also well faster, at a speed of 10 meters per second or 600 meters per minute. As a result, in January 2017 the building was recognized by Guinness World Records for having the longest and fastest two-story elevators (with the biggest load) in the world. Passengers in two-story cabins also enjoy a unique travel experience that are the OLED 55 and 60-inch signage screens created by LG Electronics, installed by order of Lotte Tower Seoul Sky. These screens cover completely the interior surface of the cabin walls providing images of past history and present scenes of Seoul. Otis provided software technology to synchronize the digital content with the controls of the elevator at the precise moment.

 

To support speed, weight and travel distance of the elevator, Otis used cables that weigh more of 10 tons, as well as traction machines especially designed to support a weight of 100 tons each. To install the two double deck passenger elevator, as well as the two other single cabin elevators for use in emergencies, Otis needed to lift and place four traction machines (with a machine weight of of 21,6 T each) in the machine room, at the top of the skyscraper. In general, buildings have a flat top, and this is still open when a traction machine is hoisted and placed directly in the machine room , since the building is still incomplete in that point. Lotte World Tower was a different story.

 

 

The upper part of this majestic skyscraper resembles to a capital spliteed in two, which created a challenge for the placement of the machines at the top of the building. Some steel frames were there in place when the traction machines were ready to be installed ,and it was critical that they were set in the machine room without damaging the two capital’s needles. Also, if they couldn’t been installed in the right time there was a risk of not being able to meet the scheduled deadline.

 

 

In the past, Otis installed 70 tones traction machines the Trading Tower of Northeast Asia at Incheon (the tallest building in South Korea at that time) and at the Seoul International Finance Center. Both buildings also had their engine rooms at the upper part, where traction machines could be placed straightaway, because both had a flat and open top. No building presented before the challenges of the Lotte World Tower.

 

 

Otis team exchanged ideas with Lotte Engineering & Construction and they designed a detailed plan for the movement and installation of the machines.

 

First, the traction machines were uploaded from the floor to a selected place on the 124th floor. Once inside, the next step was to move the machines to their correct position in the machine room in a safely and precise way. As the place where they were going to be located was 2 to 5 m above level, they moved bogies laterally (a modular set of a chassis with wheels and axes) and were placed next to the spot where it was indispensable to install them. Then, by using four blocks of automatic chains installed in the ceiling of the room, the machines were rose from the ground and placed in their correct positions on the upper part of the beams and the grips for guarantee the accuracy of the placement. Tto make sure the four traction machines were safely lifted, Otis conducted rehearsals s repeatedly in cooperation with Lotte E & C. The practice became perfect, since there was not a single unsecure event during the installation, which was completed satisfactorily.

 

In skyscrapers, the key is to keep elevator installation growing together with the skeleton construction upwards.

 

With this in mind, Otis worked with Lotte E & C to adopt a modular approach, installing the shaft in successive modular segments. Otis had previously implemented this method at the Burj Khalifa in Dubai and the Shanghai World Financial Center, where both buildings provided valuable lessons that helped ensure that the Lotte World Tower Project it would be successful. In this approach, a temporary machine room was installed halfway in a long shaft to make the process safer. The method also allowed to do interior work beforehand in the elevator, a crucial element to improve the efficiency of the entire work process. Otis used a multi-modular installation approach for the first time at in South Korea, on this occasion. First, there was installed a temporary machine room after the skeleton construction was completed; then it was built the entrance and the guides to the lower floor, and then they acompished the rest of the steps. That was in line with the construction of the building. Compared with other assembly methods , this multi-modular approach reduced the elevator installation time and building construction two and a half times.

 

It is common for 100 floor buildings or more to swing with strong winds or an earthquake. To counter that phenomenon, the double-cabin elevators of the Lotte World Tower have a cutting-edge system “building sway “(swinging the building) specially customized with internal sensors to resist the effects of swinging and at the same time guarantee maximum security.

 

“I am extremely proud of the entire Otis Korea’s team for its achievements in Lotte Tower and honored to have worked with Lotte Engineering & Construction in the development of innovative technical solutions in the project “, said IS Cho, vice president and general manager of Otis Elevator Korea. This award is a testimony of the dedication, creativity and multi-team work organization by providing product solutions technologically advanced. “This year marks the twentieth delivery of the annual “Project of the Year” prize, awarded by Elevator World Magazine.

 

Lotte World Tower, the highest one in South Korea

This tower is a colossus real estate of 555 meters high, more than half a kilometer above ground level, what makes it the tallest building in South Korea and one of the five tallest skyscrapers in the world. The building, opened in 2017 has 123 floors, a swimming pool on the floor 85 and has the fastest double decl elevator in the world, capable of transporting visitors in less than one minute from the ground floor to its top.

 

The enormous tower has properties for residential use, offices, a seven-star hotel, a cinema, an aquarium and even a concert hall for 2.000 people. It also has a viewpont r with a capacity for 900 people which represents a tourist attraction for the city. Its 10 upper floors are reserved for leisure activities and recreation, and from there you can appreciate the best views of Seoul.
Its architectural lines are modern but are inspired by Korean porcelain and calligraphy.

 

At the forefront of building and cutting edge technology, the Lotte Tower complies with all international sustainability standards and for that reason has been creditor to the certification LEED of gold.

 

This sustainability is achieved, among other things, by the installation of solar panels, wind turbines and other systems of energy efficiency that make it environmentally friendly. This tower is a record itself: the highest in the city, the one with the fastest elevators and with the longest travel distance in the world, and also the one which has the largest pool of the world at the 85th floor!

 

The skyscraper is awarded the fifth place in the top of tallest buildings in the world, headed by the Burj Khalifa (828 meters, in Dubai) and followed by theTour of Shanghai (632 meters), the Makkah Royal Clock Tower (601 meters, in Mecca) and the Ping An FinanceCenter (599 meters, in China).