green elevators

In fact, all elevators are green.

During an interview with Bruce S. Fowle, FAIA, LEED, with FX Fowle Architects, for an article published in the New York Construction Monthly last year, Fowle explained to me why elevators are green.

The key to their eco-friendly status is the fact that they allow construction to go vertical rather than horizontal. One of the buildings Fowle designed in New York City would have consumed 40 acres of new, fresh landscaping. Instead, the building took up one block or only 1 acre in NYC, as is typical for most skyscrapers.

So, density is the key. Technology is not needed to design density, rather a renewed sense of building design that is focused on green concepts.

Elevators are already so green, that a building owner cannot gain extra points in the LEED system by adding an elevator to the design. (www.usgbc.org)

Yet, despite its green qualities, companies such as KONE, Otis, and ThyssenKrupp are making huge strides in renovating their elevator designs to make them even more green. They have figured out a way to eliminate the large elevator room, saving building square footage. Also, the chains no longer need lubricants. The lubricants often used in hydraulic elevators can be harmful to the environment if left to leach into the ground.

So, I suggest you come up with a little smile the next time you ride an elevator. For once, you are being green by just standing there.

Check out my article in www.greenbuildinginsider.com for additional details!

Editors note: photograph is courtesy of ThyssenKrupp.