KONE References 2017: Urban Journeys

“Airports are the first and the last impression of any country.” Tor Engen, project manager at KONE Norway. “Our solutions not only met all demands from a specifications and design perspective, but also fulfilled all the requirements for safety, maintenance and regulation. We had the highest project certifications, including the likes of BREEAM, which is one of the most significant environment assessment methods across the globe,” declares Engen. “Right from the start, our focus was to find sustainable solutions for the future,” he adds. Environmentally, the Oslo airport has made massive strides in keeping energy levels low. Among the many groundbreaking innovations used in the airport, adds Susæg, is a ‘Snow Depot’ to keep it cool. “They are used to maintain low temperatures and bring in cool air, thus cutting down the use of energy. Further, to reduce the CO2 footprint, ash has been added into the concrete and wood for cladding the roof,” he explains. KONE too used groundbreaking technology to maximize energy efficiency. Technology such as the regenerative drive that converts an elevator’s excess energy into electricity, which can then be reused elsewhere in the building. Very unlike conventional drives, which convert energy into heat that must be removed by air conditioning systems. Besides these, other KONE improvements included the use of LED lights in elevators that reduce energy consumption by up to 80% as against halogen lights and last 10 times longer. What’s more, as much as 90% of the material content of KONE elevators consists of metals that can be recycled at the end of the product’s life cycle. But all of this is just the beginning. As the Oslo airport readies itself to expand further, it’s time to fasten your seat belts for a ride into a jet-setting future. / Oslo airport – Norway 41