KONE Corporation, trade press release, November 7, 2012
KONE, an innovative leader in the lift and escalator industry, introduced its new volume lift portfolio in June 2012 with the industry's most unique and flexible design collection. The new lifts have been upgraded from the inside out, setting a design benchmark for the whole industry.
"According to KONE's design philosophy, a good elevator user experience is more than just a ride - it's an emotional experience that combines aesthetics, accessibility, comfort, safety, reliability, and eco-efficiency. The philosophy springs from KONE's vision of delivering the best user experience in the industry," says Anne Stenros, Design Director at KONE.
Industry's most versatile design offering
The new KONE design collection features over 50 car interiors and 100 different materials and accessories that can be combined freely and used in all lift products, for both new construction and modernisation projects. With trendy colours, materials, finishing and new unique patterns, the lifts can complement the building's architecture, providing at the same time enhanced functionality and accessibility.
The collection presents six global design themes based on trend research: modern simplicity with casual and fresh design; cool vintage with a nostalgic and progressive look and feel; industrial chic with sophisticated and captivating design; classic chic with rich, timeless looks; nouveau glamour with striking, bold interiors; and new luxury with elegance and luxurious details. KONE has been granted two world-class red dot 2012 design awards for its new design solutions.
User-friendly signalisation and components
The award winners, the KSS 280 and KSS 800 signalization series, bring novel design to lifts with their minimalistic and user-friendly design. The KSS 800 introduces easy-to-use destination control to the wider public and therefore improves traffic efficiency in buildings. Both series focus on accessibility and usability, which becomes obvious in the landing fixture with rounded corners, clear forms and large key buttons. The red dot jury praised KONE's winning solutions for harmonious design, innovative technical processes that provide customising options, intelligent operating concept, excellent technical performance, and strong focus on accessibility.
Easy-to-use planning tools to create unique designs
KONE Design Collection's mix and match options enable the creation of an own, unique style with KONE's design tools. A detailed lift specifications and customised CAD drawings for planning can be created online via KONE Elevator Toolbox. The Car Designer Tool makes it possible to combine materials and accessories to create a virtual experience of one's own lift car design. KONE Building Information Modeling (BIM) models make it easier and quicker for architects to prepare digital lift designs. Included in the elevator toolbox, these models are compatible with most common project documentation systems and include the latest KONE lift specifications.
The industry's most energy-efficient lifts
On top of being pioneer in lift design, KONE's objective is to be the eco-efficiency leader within its industry. The new KONE MonoSpace® elevators are up to 35 percent more energy efficient than KONE's previous industry-leading lift platform. More than 90 percent of the lift's material weight consists of metals, which are fully recycleable. 25-30 percent of the metals used in manufacturing KONE products are of recycled origin. KONE focusses on using wood, carton board, and paper materials from sustainable sources.
"Our customers are demanding when it comes to eco-efficiency, and green building certification schemes like LEED and BREEAM are increasing the demand for eco-efficient elevators. We deliver industry-leading green performance with a design edge to enhance the value of a building," adds Stenros.
As the first company in the lift industry, KONE's volume products received an A-class energy rating according to the VDI 4707 guideline - the benchmark for lift energy efficiency.
The new products will be available in Europe and Asia Pacific during the second half of 2012, and in the Americas in 2013. The global portfolio includes the machine room-less KONE MonoSpace®, and for the Asian market there is the KONE N MiniSpace(TM) with a small machine room.
For further information, please contact:
Liisa Kivelä, Director, External Communications, KONE Corporation, tel. +358 204 754330
Read more about KONE's award winning design from the press release KONE wins four prestigious red dot design prizes:http://www.kone.com/corporate/en/Press/Releases/Pages/kone-wins-four-prestigious-red-dot-design-awards.aspx