Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com

RECORD-BREAKING OBSERVATION DECK OPENS IN NYC

Edge, the highest outdoor observation deck in the Western Hemisphere at 1,100 ft, was scheduled to open on March 11 on the 100th floor of the 30 Hudson Yards office building on NYC’s far West Side, various news outlets, including CNN report. With a trapezoidal design by Kohn Pedersen Fox that tilts toward the Hudson River, the 101-story 30 Hudson Yards is part of Related/Oxford Properties Group’s 28-acre Hudson Yards megadevelopment. With adult ticket prices starting at US$38, the observation deck is surrounded by 3,000 ft2 of glass formed into 79 panels that lean out over the city, providing 360˚ views. In the center of the deck is a triangular glass section where those not averse to heights may stand to "watch the cars moving below like ants.” 30 Hudson Yards is served by an Otis vertical-transportation system that includes 54 SkyRise® elevators. Among these is a double-deck lift that carries visitors to Edge in approximately 52 s. Like at One World Observatory, the ride is experiential, with screens that show drawings of NYC landmarks transform into photographs on the way up and take passengers on an “immersive walk on the High Line” on the way down.

Image credit: courtesy Related-Oxford

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Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com

SUPERTALL 50 HUDSON YARDS CONTINUES ASCENT IN NYC

50 Hudson Yards, designed by Norman Foster of Foster + Partners, continues to ascend to its ultimate 1,011-ft pinnacle in the Hudson Yards megadevelopment on NYC’s far West Side, New York YIMBY reports. The final piece of the 28-acre Hudson Yards puzzle, 50 Hudson Yards will be a supertall, 2.9 million-ft2 commercial property developed by Oxford Properties Group and Mitsui Fudosan. The first building one sees when riding the escalators up from the Hudson Yards subway station, 50 Hudson Yards is rising between Kohn Pedersen Fox’s completed 30 Hudson Yards and the under-construction 66 Hudson Boulevard, also known as The Spiral, designed by Bjarke Ingels Group. It will sit only 120 ft shy of The Edge — the highest observation deck in the Western Hemisphere — at 30 Hudson Yards. The attraction had been expected to open today. Completion of 50 Hudson Yards is anticipated in 2022.

Image credit: courtesy Related/Oxford

To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news

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Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com

REFLECTING ON IEE EXPO 2020 IN MUMBAI

Attendees and organizers reflected on the eighth edition of the International Elevator & Escalator Expo (IEE) Expo 2020 on February 27-29 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai. Organizer Messe Frankfurt said more than 7,500 visitors attended the expo, at which components implementing modern technology took center stage. Representatives of major OEMs, government officials and the real estate industry — thanks to a partnership with the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India-Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry — were among attendees. Urbanization and infrastructure development are among VT business drivers in India, the world’s second-largest market after China. The show kicked off with component suppliers giving live demonstrations of technologies including a solar power generator for elevators, hydraulic passenger and goods lifts and smart control panels connected to the cloud. The next IEE Expo is planned for 2022.

Image credit: courtesy of Messe Frankfurt

To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news

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Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com

EID, SCHINDLER TO CREATE CUSTOM CABS FOR HARD ROCK IN NYC

Elevator Interior Design (EID) has been enlisted by Schindler to create custom elevator cabs for the 35-story Hard Rock Hotel under construction near Times Square at 159 West 48th Street in NYC, EID announced. Designed by Berg + Moss Architects and developed by Extell, the hotel will be served by elevators outfitted with EID's proprietary wall-panel system using woven wire from Cambridge Metals and laminated glass form McGrory Glass. Since the Schindler door-panel, return-panel and transom finishes are limited to satin stainless steel, EID will face the entire front cab walls with Forms + Surfaces' fused metal treated with fingerprint-resistant CeramilocTM.

Image credit: courtesy of Hard Rock

To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news

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Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com

ELEVATORS LEGISLATED IN FLORIDA CITY

Commissioners in Winter Garden, Florida, unanimously approved amendments to the Florida Building Code, including one that requires elevators in certain multifamily structures, West Orange Times & Observer reports. Allowed under a state statute that permits local governments to enact requirements stricter than minimum state standards, Winter Garden now requires multifamily buildings that are at least two stories tall to have elevators. City leaders considered requiring elevators in buildings with 10 or more residences but scrapped that proposal because of its potential to stifle economic development in low-income neighborhoods where cost is an issue. Winter Garden Community Development Director Steve Pash said that “requiring elevators in a structure with 50 or fewer units essentially would make the project unaffordable for developers.”

Image credit: courtesy by Suppadeth Wongee for Pixabay

To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news

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Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com

ELEVATOR MANUFACTURERS IN INDIA URGE NATIONAL STANDARDS

In light of increased lift accidents as elevators become more prevalent across India, major vertical-transportation (VT) manufacturers are lobbying for national, uniform standards for design, construction and installation of VT equipment, The Economic Times reports. Although the National Building Code provides elevator installation guidelines, these are only recommended, observed industry veteran TAK Mathews, who says there were at least 28 elevator-related fatalities in 2019. A handful of states, including Maharashtra and Karnataka, have lift acts, and only 10 issue lift licenses, according to KONE India Managing Director Amit Gossain. thyssenkrupp Elevator India CEO Manish Mehan says further complexities are presented by major companies employing subcontractors that lack training programs, the number of small players in the market and the use of manual doors. Some markets, including Delhi, have mandated safer — but more expensive — automatic doors, he adds.

Image credit: courtesy of KONE via T&D India

To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news

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Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com

NEW RENDERINGS SHOW HOW 2 WTC WOULD FIT INTO NYC SKYLINE

Four new renderings show how 2 World Trade Center (WTC), originally conceived by Norman Foster of Foster + Partners, would fit into the NYC skyline, New York YIMBY reports. The British architect recently won a second chance at designing the supertall at 200 Greenwich Street from developer Silverstein Properties, and the renderings, by YIMBY and Instagram user Sinaevart, provide a look at what could become the second-tallest skyscraper in lower Manhattan after the 1,776-ft-tall One WTC. The first shows the four diamond-shaped structures on the crown pointing down toward the 9/11 Memorial, the second is a morning view from Midtown that obscures 3 WTC, the third is a sunset view from New York Harbor beyond the Statute of Liberty and the fourth is from Hudson Square that accentuates the original design’s dark centerline. A new design could look considerably different, and a construction timeline for what would be the final piece of the WTC complex puzzle will depend on landing an anchor tenant.

Image credit: courtesy by Sinaevart

To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news

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Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com

THYSSENKRUPP ATLANTA TEST TOWER CHUGGING ALONG POST SALE

Construction on thyssenkrupp Elevator’s 400-ft-tall test tower, part of its new North American headquarters known as the Innovation and Qualification Center (IQC) next to The Battery Atlanta, is chugging along after thyssenkrupp AG inked a deal to sell its elevator division to a consortium led by Advent, Cinvin and RAG foundation on February 27, Cobb Business Journal, a division of Marietta Daily Journal, reports. Approximately 130 construction workers are onsite now for a continuous concrete pour involving a moving framework that advances the structure more than 7 ft a day. Using a process known as slip form, the workers pour concrete 24/7, and aim to have the tower topped out in April. There will ultimately be up to 200 construction workers at the 4.8-acre IQC. thyssenkrupp Elevator spokesman Dennis Van Milligan tells the source that, upon completion of the sale, ownership of the IQC will transfer, and that details about naming rights and signage for the IQC and tower are still being worked out.

Image credit: courtesy of Gensler

To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news

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Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com

NEW CHIEF INSPECTOR FOR ALABAMA

Edward F. “Eddie” Wiggins is the new chief inspector of the Alabama Boiler and Elevator Inspections Division, ELEVATOR WORLD learned through the National Elevator Industry, Inc. Wiggins can be contacted at email or by phone: 334-956-7412. Other Alabama Department of Labor contacts are available at website.

To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news

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Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. Today’s podcast news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com

THYSSENKRUPP SELLS ELEVATOR DIVISION

thyssenkrupp agreed to sell its elevator division to a consortium of Advent, Cinven and RAG AG (Germany’s largest coal-mining corporation, also based in Essen) on February 27, Reuters reported. The final price was EUR17.2 billion (US$18.7 billion). After KONE withdrew its bid citing "terms and conditions that are in the best interest of its shareholders, employees and customers" amid reports of worldwide litigation from other OEMs (ELENET 826), the winning consortium prevailed against a rival consortium comprising Blackstone, Carlyle and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. thyssenkrupp said it would reinvest about EUR1.25 billion (US$1.37 billion) to take a stake in the unit, which would translate to a 7.3% share that would be used to partially fund its pension liabilities. These plus its debt total EUR16 billion (US$17.57 billion). thyssenkrupp is expected to cut its debt, which will result in a significantly lower annual cash outflow for interest and pension payments. Detailed distribution plans are to be announced in May. thyssenkrupp Elevator will continue to be based in Germany and preserve equal shareholder/labor representation. German metalworkers' union IG Metall, which represents many thyssenkrupp workers, said jobs and sites will be secure until at least March 31, 2027. thyssenkrupp expects the deal to close by the end of the year.

Image credit: courtesy thyssenkrupp

To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news

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