135 words The skyscraper elevator of the future Germany’s Thyssenkrupp has unveiled its latest prototype high-speed elevator, the MULTI, hailing it as the world’s first rope-free elevator SKYSCRAPERS Number of buildings taller than 200m has tripled since 2000. Over 180 buildings currently under construction are over 250m MULTI Detail MULTI ELEVATOR SYSTEM Cables replaced by linear motors, allowing vertical and horizontal movement. Multiple cabins travel safely up one shaft and down another in single continuous loop Rotating exchange Cabin: Carbon composites reduce weight by up to 50% Vertical living: Half of global population lives in cities. By end of century it will jump to 70% Efficiency: With multiple cabins in single shaft, passengers only wait 15-30 seconds for elevator CHANGING LANES Up… … rotate… … cross over… … rotate… … down Sources: ThyssenKrupp AG, wire agencies © GRAPHIC NEWS