Press Release

03.14.2023

50 Hudson Yards, featuring 22 TWIN elevator systems from TK Elevator, opens in New York City

• TWIN features two independently operating cars in one shaft, which reduce passenger travel times, building core space and energy consumption.
• 50 Hudson Yards, the fourth largest commercial office building in Manhattan, represents the largest TWIN installation in North America
• TK Elevator is the official vertical transportation provider at Hudson Yards. The company manufactured, installed and will maintain more than 100 elevators and escalators across the development

NEW YORK CITY, March 14, 2023 — TK Elevator, one of the global market and innovation leaders in the elevator industry, has completed installation of 22 TWIN elevator systems at 50 Hudson Yards on Manhattan’s West Side. As the official vertical transportation provider at Hudson Yards, the company is partnering with developer Related on more than 100 elevators and escalators across multiple buildings.

The TWIN elevator systems feature two cars operating independently in one shaft, making efficient use of available space while transporting up to 40% more passengers than conventional elevators. This capability will help tenants move efficiently in the fourth largest commercial building in Manhattan. The LEED Gold certified building designed by Foster + Partners spans an entire city block, stands at 985 feet tall and has 18 million square feet.

“The largest and busiest city in the U.S. demands the best elevator systems and we are proud to support some of New York City’s most recognized structures like One World Trade Center and now 50 Hudson Yards, said Jeremy Rainwater, CEO Americas. Related has done a masterful job creating a modern work-live-play environment unlike anything else in New York City. Incorporating our one-of-a-kind TWIN elevator systems was the perfect technology solution to keep tenants moving safely and efficiently through the property.”

The TWIN elevator system provides high-volume vertical transportation with minimal wait times, even for buildings with densely packed workers who frequently move between floors. Such is the case on 30 of the 43 upper floors. Without the TWIN system, the building would have required ten more elevator shafts, cutting into the open office floor plans that are part of the building’s appeal. Traditional elevators offering the same service level would have consumed 800 square feet on each of the 30 floors. Additionally, the systems are controlled by a custom algorithm that can dispatch any of 44 cars in 22 shafts to any of its 43 upper floors.

There were also advantages that TWIN had when compared with the double-decker elevator systems, installed in the Empire State Building, in which upper and lower cars are connected and move together. But double-deckers weren’t a good fit, as the Hudson’s Yard’s building’s floors were not going to be an even distance apart; the design called for several double-height floors to accommodate trading rooms or public spaces. Attached cars can also frustrate riders, the developers felt. With the double-decker, when the upper car is loading, the lower car is just stopped.

50 Hudson Yards is the largest TWIN installation in North America. The first North American TWINs were installed at the CODA Building in Atlanta in 2019, and the elevator system is now being utilized nearby at TK Elevator’s award-winning research and development facility, the Innovation and Qualification Center (IQC). The IQC, which includes the tallest elevator test tower in North America at 420 feet tall, is part of TK Elevator’s North American Regional Business Support Center at The Battery Atlanta.

To learn more about TWIN elevator systems, read the TK Elevator blog that addresses some of the misconceptions about this groundbreaking elevator technology. A white paper detailing the TWIN journey at 50 Hudson Yards can also be downloaded here.

For more information about TK Elevator, go to https://www.tkelevator.com/us-en/.

PRESS IMAGES

Available here (credit: TK Elevator)