KONE wins first KONE UltraRope® order in North America for 110 North Wacker Drive in Chicago Loop business district

May 16, 2018:KONE, a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry, has won an order to provide elevators for a 54-story tower at 110 North Wacker Drive in the Chicago Loop business district. The project marks the North American debut of KONE UltraRope®, a revolutionary elevator hoisting technology that sets a new benchmark for high-rise buildings.

The super-light rope provides unrivalled elevator eco-efficiency, reliability and durability while also improving elevator performance. KONE UltraRope can enable elevator travel heights of up to one kilometer (3,300 feet).

“This groundbreaking solution supports the design of more sustainable, higher-performance buildings that are better equipped to meet the demands of the urban environments of tomorrow,” says Larry Wash, executive vice president, KONE Americas. “KONE UltraRope and our combination of smart building technologies will help deliver a superior ride experience worthy of this world-class property.”

The tower will be approximately 244 meters (800 feet) in height and contain 149,000 square meters (1.6 million square feet) of space, alongside exceptional amenities. KONE will provide 30 traction elevators and 10 turnstiles for the project.

Specifically, the building will house 24 KONE Mini-Space(TM) passenger elevators with high performance cars: the elevators will operate at speeds of up to eight meters per second (1,600 feet per minute). Also included will be the following smart building solutions: KONE Destination, KONE Access, KONE InfoScreens, KONE RemoteCall(TM) and fully-integrated KONE Turnstiles that assign an elevator at the point of entry through the building’s smart lobby.

KONE will also provide four energy-efficient machine room-less passenger elevators, and two service elevators. The service elevators are innovative, 3,600-kg (8,000-lb.) units, which travel at speeds of up to six meters per second (1,200 feet per minute) and feature KONE UltraRope.

KONE is tentatively scheduled to begin elevator installation during Q1 of 2019 and be complete in Q4 of 2020. 110 North Wacker Drive is scheduled for completion in Q4 of 2020.

The project is a joint development between owners The Howard Hughes Corporation and Riverside Investment & Development Company. Goettsch Partners is the project architect. Clark Construction Group – Chicago, LLC, is the general contractor.

KONE booked the order in the first quarter of 2018.