Horizontal, cable-free elevators arriving in 2016

The American industrialist, Elisha Otis, demonstrated the first safety elevator in 1854. His invention was revolutionary, paving the way for buildings of unprecedented height. These "skyscrapers" (as they became known) transformed the urban landscape, allowing cities with greatly increased verticality and population density.

In the 160 years since then, little has fundamentally changed in the design of elevators. Meanwhile, the world has become highly urbanised – a trend that is forecast to continue in the future, with two-thirds of people living in urban areas by the 2050s compared to 50% in 2010. In response to the emerging challenges of city and building design, German company ThyssenKrupp aims to reinvent this form of transportation. By using a combination of linear motors (similar to those in maglev trains), inductive power transfers from shaft to cabin, multi-level brakes and lightweight materials, they intend to develop a new system that eliminates the need for cables.

Known as "MULTI", this setup could reduce elevator footprints by 50% and increase a building's available space by 25%. Many cabins in the same shaft moving around vertical and horizontal loops would allow much higher volumes of passengers to be handled. Office workers, residents, and other users would no longer have to endure long waits, having near-constant access to a cabin every 15-30 seconds. The overall increase in efficiency would translate into major cost savings for construction, as well as a multiplication of rent revenues from the increased usable floorspace. Architects could also experiment with radically new heights, shapes and building purposes. The first MULTI unit will be tested in 2016.

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