The Marina Bay Sands resort in downtown Singapore is adding a new dimension to the concept of a skyscraper.
The Singapore skyline is soon to have a new development with the opening of the Marina Bay SandsTM Integrated Resort in early 2010. The multi-use hotel and casino complex is conceived as a signature landmark identifiable clearly with Singapore in the same way that the Opera House is with Sydney or the Burj Al Arab is with Dubai.
Three towers are formed with curved shapes that are capped with a single linking platform bearing a unique Sands SkyPark, a one-hectare garden in the sky. This innovative design has presented special challenges for KONE, which has orders for the escalators and elevators in the finished complex.
To help the construction progress quickly and efficiently, builders are using the KONE JumpLift solution. KONE developed JumpLift in order to meet the demands of today’s challenging high-rise building projects. It achieves savings of as much as 20 percent in construction time.
The solution enables builders to place the elevator car and shaft in place even as the high-rise is being constructed. The installation proceeds as the building grows, continuously developing from floor to floor, transporting workers and building equipment as floors are added. When the building is finished, builders can convert JumpLift into a permanent elevator, a transformation that represents big savings.
The end result of using KONE JumpLift is faster delivery for customers. Also, safety is greater for transporting workers and equipment than a conventional construction elevator, which is typically placed on the outside of the building’s rising structure.
“JumpLifts generally are not a common solution in Singapore, but it is a construction access solution we have used in the region with much success,” says Dale Chadwick, Marina Bay Sands’ executive director for building services.
“It brings workers efficiently to the workface on high-rise buildings, which otherwise becomes increasingly time consuming the higher the towers go and ultimately results in lost productivity and delays. It’s a cost we feel is justified to meetour aggressive construction schedules. The KONE JumpLift solution is both safe and flexible in responding to our changing jump levels and needs.