Double-deck elevator
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Double-deck elevators are elevators designed such that two elevator cars are attached one on top of the other. This allows passengers on two consecutive floors to be able to use the elevator simultaneously, significantly increasing the passenger capacity of an elevator shaft. Such a scheme can prove efficient in buildings where the volume of traffic would normally have a single elevator stopping at every floor.
Architecturally, this is important as double-deck elevators occupy less building core space than traditional single-deck elevators do for the same level of traffic. In skyscrapers, this allows for much more efficient use of space, as the floor area required by elevators tends to be quite significant.
[edit] Double-deck goods/passenger elevators
Not all double-deck elevators are used to transport passengers simultaneously in both decks. Sometimes one or more elevators in a building has a double-deck car, where the second deck is used for transportation of goods, typically outside of peak traffic periods. This technique has the advantages of preventing damage to interior fixings due to impact from trolleys, and does not require a dedicated shaft solely devoted to a goods-only elevator car. During peak periods, the car is switched back to passenger mode where it can expedite passenger movement into or out of the building.
[edit] List of structures with double-deck passenger elevators
- American International Building in New York (subsequently removed)
- Aon Center in Chicago
- C. D. Howe Building / 240 Sparks Street in Ottawa
- Citigroup Center in New York
- The Travelers Building (388 Greenwich St) in New York
- Eiffel Tower in Paris
- First Canadian Place in Toronto
- International Finance Centre in Hong Kong
- Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur
- Menara Telekom in Kuala Lumpur
- One Bell Center in Saint Louis
- Republic Plaza in Singapore
- Roppongi Hills Mori Tower in Tokyo
- Sears Tower in Chicago
- Statue of Liberty in New York (goes no higher than the pedestal)
- Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas
- Sun Hung Kai Center in Hong Kong (OTIS elevators)
- Sydney Tower in Sydney
- Time-Life Building, Chicago, Illinois
- Taipei 101 in Taipei, Taiwan
- The Concourse, Beach Road, Singapore
- Scotia Plaza in Toronto