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Whatever the future of high-rise technology might hold, this is where you’ll see it first. KONE’s Test Tower in Kunshan
is purpose-built for a single mission: testing elevators to make them better, smarter and faster.
TOMORROW’S ELEVATORS
HERE TODAY
Welcome to the Silicon Valley of high-rise technology.
The KONE Park manufacturing and R&D center in
Kunshan, China, is where cutting-edge high-rise
innovations undergo rigorous testing.
In the middle of it all, towering 235 meters above the flat
landscape, is the newly inaugurated 36-floor Kunshan
Test Tower. This is literally a skyscraper like no other:
You’ll find no offices, apartments or commercial space
inside, only a vast machine room and 12 elevator shafts.
And – here’s the twist – what you’ll find inside those
shafts is liable to change from one month to the next.
“The whole tower is basically a technical chameleon.
The elevators in the test shafts will be constantly
reconfigured. We’ll be dismantling and installing new
elevators, or at least new components, on a monthly
basis,” says
Antti Hoppania
, Director for Reliability and
Quality at KONE.
Technical chameleon
Among the few permanent installations is a super-fast 10
m/s DoubleDeck elevator which carries visitors from the
ground level to the sky lobby and showroom. This is one
of the the world’s very first DoubleDeck elevators to feature
the super lightweight KONE UltraRope™ technology.
The test tower in Kunshan is the “Asian twin” of the
KONE high-rise laboratory in Tytyri, Finland. The tower
also provides KONE with a unique location to invite
customers to see its latest innovations in action. Another
permanent fixture is a service elevator that travels the full
distance up to the 36th floor and is reserved solely for
R&D activities.
“We needed additional capacity and capability to support
our high-rise testing efforts. Earlier, we were dependent
on our Finnish unit and smaller test shafts in Kunshan,
but their heights were nothing compared to this,”
explains Hoppania.
New heights in R&D
Having the test tower located in the middle of an existing
R&D and production park will significantly boost KONE’s
agility. “Now that we have more capacity, muscle and
speed, we’ll be able to deliver new products to the
market faster than ever before,” adds Hoppania.
The geographical location is also ideal, as it unites
KONE’s two research units in Finland and China. “Now
we are physically closer to our Asian customers and have
two teams working as a close-knit unit across the eastern
and western hemispheres,” he adds.
“KONE is a major player driving technological
development in the mid- and high-rise market. This
new landmark dedicated exclusively to R&D is a visually
powerful symbol of our commitment to taking elevator
technology to truly new heights.”
FAST FACTS
KONE Kunshan Test Tower
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Completed: 2015
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Height: 235.6 m
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Floors: 36
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Maximum elevator speed: 15 m/s
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Architect: Suzhou Industrial Park
Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd
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Building owner: KONE
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Developer: KONE
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Contractor: JiangSu Wannianda
Construction Group Co., Ltd
KONE Solutions
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KONE DoubleDeck
elevators
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KONE UltraRope™
technology
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KONE service elevator for
R&D activities
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A variety of new KONE
solutions will be tested in
the reconfigurable elevator
shafts
KONE TEST TOWER – KUNSHAN, CHINA
SUMMARY
Challenge
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KONE needed additional R&D capacity to test its
future high-rise solutions.
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A state-of-the-art facility was needed to demonstrate
innovations on-site to Asian customers.
Solution
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KONE constructed its own skyscraper devoted
exclusively to testing its new high-rise solutions.
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The tower contains 12 test shafts that can be
reconfigured on a monthly basis.
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A 10 m/s KONE DoubleDeck elevator featuring
UltraRope™ technology takes visitors to the
showroom.