As high-rise cities grapple with a multitude of challenges including the evolving nature of work and a critical shortage of housing, there’s an increasing need to reconsider how we build and use urban areas.
Office vacancies are soaring, driven by a huge shift to work-from-home and the continued impact of the pandemic. In London, empty offices rates are at 9% (the highest this century) *, meanwhile in New York, an estimated 26 Empire State Buildings worth of office space is empty. At the same time, countries across the globe are facing urgent housing demands. The UK, for example, needs 4.3 million homes according to the leading think tank Centre for Cities*.
Predictions suggest that by 2050, nearly 70% of the world’s population will reside in urban areas and the pressure to efficiently utilize and, more importantly, reconfigure our city spaces is mounting*.
From single to mixed-use buildings
One compelling solution to these challenges is to repurpose existing high-rise developments that are no longer required for their intended use. London’s Canary Wharf – previously a hub for international business – is transforming into a live-work-play district, with more than 3,500 now living there compared to zero before 2020*. These reimagined skyscrapers are already starting to serve as vibrant hubs that seamlessly integrate residential, commercial, and recreational spaces. However, a barrier to this vision is the rigid and often outdated layout of these buildings, which were originally designed with a single use in mind.
The core of the problem lies in the traditional design of skyscrapers, which often feature fixed lobbies and entrances that connect to elevator groups serving specific sets of floors or functions, for example offices, residences, or hotels. This layout restricts the potential for transforming a building into a mixed-use facility but also limits the adaptability of these buildings to meet the evolving needs of new urban communities.
Introducing Schindler MetaCore
This is where solutions like Schindler MetaCore – a solution designed to rethink and reconfigure a building’s core elevator technology- come into play. Schindler, a global leader in elevators, escalators, and moving walkways, has developed this technology to enable a new level of flexibility in high-rise buildings, opening up possibilities for diverse and dynamic building use without the need for extensive and disruptive renovations.
Schindler MetaCore works by rethinking a building’s internal structure, focusing on the critical areas of vertical transportation and accessibility. The reimagined core allows for new layouts that can accommodate various functions within the same building — residential units, office spaces, retail, and leisure facilities can coexist within a single vertical development and without encroaching on each other. This approach maximizes the use of existing structures and also supports the idea of multi-purpose, community-based structures.
A key component of this approach is the integration of advanced Schindler PORT technology. This elevator management system revolutionises how people move through buildings, streamlining vertical mobility and enhancing the efficiency and comfort of navigating buildings. Schindler PORT minimizes wait times by allowing building users to input their floor and be assigned an elevator on the spot. There is also access control which manages access to different levels for different users – more important than ever when a building becomes mixed-use. Different building users are able to access floors with ease and minimal interaction.
Starting from a building’s core elevator system is the most efficient way of repurposing a skyscraper. After all, moving people around skyscrapers efficiently is one of the most important considerations. For city planners, architects, and developers, the message is clear: we must start thinking from the inside out. If we are to successfully repurpose our high-rise developments and meet the challenges of tomorrow’s cities, we must embrace innovative solutions like Schindler MetaCore. This way we can unlock the potential of our urban spaces and create vibrant, sustainable, and connected communities.
*https://www.statista.com/stati...
*https://www.nytimes.com/intera...
*https://www.centreforcities.or...'%20latest%20piece,of%204.3%20million%20missing%20homes.&text=and%20Anthony%20Breach-,Compared%20to%20other%20European%20countries%2C%20Britain%20has%20a%20backlog%20of,missing%20from%20the%20housing%20market.