Our products can be found in iconic buildings around the globe. Discover some of our more interesting and challenging projects.
Auckland Airport is the gateway to New Zealand for international and domestic visitors. It is the busiest airport in New Zealand with over 21 million passengers visiting prior to COVID-19 arriving on our shores in early 2020.
We have been partnered with the airport for many years, having installed a range of escalators, moving walks and elevators throughout the domestic and international terminals.
With the arrival of COVID-19 in our communities, Auckland Airport required a solution for its elevators, escalators and moving walks in the international terminal, that would help to prevent the spread of the virus through shared surfaces and public spaces.
Our Schindler CleanMobility solutions were developed by our global innovation and technology team during the pandemic. They provide clean passenger space solutions for elevators and escalators all over the world. Using UV technology and air purification systems, we were able to offer Auckland Airport our suite of options to find the best fit for their needs.
We initially installed four Schindler Ultra UV Pro 2 handrail devices to our Schindler 9500 Moving Walks in the ‘red zone’ of the airport. The solution was put to the test, with Auckland Airport undertaking an independent review of the devices. Using the New Zealand Food and Beverage health and safety guidelines as a benchmark, they measured how effective the handrail device was at sanitising shared surfaces.
After successful installation and onsite testing, a further 24 units were installed.
We also installed our Schindler UV CleanCar and Schindler CleanAir units into a back of house elevator in the ‘red zone’ of the airport. The Schindler UV CleanCar is a UV-C light system that cleans cabin surfaces while the elevator is empty. The Schindler UV CleanAir unit is an air purification system that keeps the cabin air fresh and hygienic.
Auckland Airport is one of the first in the world to utilise our CleanMobility solutions that have been designed to address COVID-19. Michael Side, Manager of Data and Digital Operations for Auckland Airport has said "Collaborating with Schindler has contributed to us keeping staff and passengers safe here at Auckland Airport throughout the Covid-19 pandemic".
While we continue to experience challenges in how we use and share public spaces, Schindler CleanMobility supports in keeping our passengers safe.
Auckland has a lot going for itself: cosmopolitan, architecturally rich, abuzz with culture, and framed by a magnificent harbour. Now Commercial Bay, a recent addition to the city’s skyline, is making it even more attractive, and Schindler is at the heart of it.
Located in Auckland’s central business district, Commercial Bay is the city’s newest kid on the block: a premium retail, hospitality, and commercial precinct that overlooks the city’s iconic Waitemata Harbour.
The project consists of two distinct, glass-façade buildings: the 39,000m2 PwC Tower and the Commercial Bay retail centre, an 18 000 m2 retail and hospitality precinct home to 120 stores including world renown restaurants and bars. Schindler supplied 26 elevators and 20 escalators, connecting horizontal and vertical transportation, while optimising passengers’ journeys via its transit management system Schindler PORT. In addition, our predictive maintenance technology Schindler Ahead runs in the background to ensure everything runs as smoothly as possible.
Views, speed, comfort
The PwC Tower holds the distinction of being the tallest office building in the country, topping out at 180 metres. Six fully glazed Schindler 7000 elevators, hugging the building’s external façade, provide passengers with astonishing views of the city.
These elevators do not only make for great observation platforms. They whisk visitors and office workers up and down the tower in record time – they are, as it turns out, the fastest elevators in the whole of New Zealand.
"The high-rise elevators in the PwC Tower reach speeds of 8m per second with exceptional ride quality," says Paul Singleton, National Operations Manager for Commercial Bay’s developer Precinct Properties. "This is an impressive feature when you work on the 38th floor."
Future-proof with Schindler PORT and Schindler Ahead
The PwC Tower is also equipped with transit management system Schindler PORT, helping to optimise the flow of people through the building.
Schindler PORT offers flexibility – handy in a rapidly changing world. The maximum elevator capacity can be lowered to limit the number of passengers per elevator.
Schindler Ahead, our intelligent remote-monitoring and predictive-maintenance system, for its part, guarantees high uptimes, responsiveness through real-time support, and a great visitor experience overall.
Philip Hemming, Head of New Installations for Schindler NZ has said "the PwC Tower has been a real success. We are proud to have been a part of such an iconic project. We are really excited to be a part of the second phase of the Commercial Bay precinct, One Queen Street." One Queen Street will include a luxury hotel, office space and further food and beverage offerings for the area.
The One Queen Street development is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2023.
A first for Aotearoa
As international travellers and domestic visitors make their return to Auckland to explore our city, it is only appropriate that they now have not one, but two new hotels to choose from.
Located in the heart of Auckland’s CBD, on the corner of Albert and Wyndham Streets, sits the newly opened 200 premium room voco Auckland Hotel and 294 room Holiday Inn Express Auckland Hotel. Aotearoa’s first dual branded hotel complex.
The 39-storey building have the hotels stacked on top of each other, with the Holiday Inn Express situated in the bottom half of the building while voco occupies the top half. With separate entrances and a distinct design look and feel between the two, the development is home to a range of food and beverage offerings, a wellness centre and an incredible roof top bar on Level 38.
We supplied the vertical transportation for the development which includes one Schindler 9300 escalator and eight Schindler 5500 elevators. One of the elevators is a dedicated firefighting lift designed to meet global EN81-72 building standards.
Collaboration is the key
The project site is located on a very small footprint of land with busy roads surrounding it. We were required to bring our products on to the site with a tower crane to access the higher points within the building.
We completed our installation in stages aligned with the overall construction timeline. Working with Icon New Zealand and key stakeholders, we began our installation on the lower floors to the mid-point of the building while the upper floors and lift shaft were being completed. Then, the top floors were handed over to us so we could complete the installation. This process ensured we were able to speed up the installation process by approximately two months.
Huseyin Yalaz, Major Projects Manager for Schindler New Zealand says "Given the complexity of the project, we brought together our most experienced team to carry out the installation, commissioning, and safety inspections. In support of the project programme, we carried out a 2-stage installation to accelerate the completion of the first three elevators to hand over to the builders. This allowed for the façade to be completed within a shorter timeframe".
Keeping connected
All elevators and escalators across the complex are equipped with Schindler Ahead, our remote monitoring and predictive maintenance platform. The Schindler Ahead suite of applications supports higher uptimes, while also keeping passengers connected to our Customer Care Centre.
"An efficient and seamless lift experience plays an important role in the guest experience for our voco hotel guests staying in the tower’s 201 rooms. Now that we have opened New Zealand’s highest hotel rooftop bar on Level 38, Bar Albert, having a quick and smooth ride from the ground to the top floor is paramount," said Fraser McKenzie, Area General Manager Pro-invest Hotels NZ.
One of Auckland’s most vibrant sustainable developments, the ASB Bank’s headquarters at North Wharf has 3 Schindler MRL elevators with PORT technology and clear glazed panelling on the cars and doors. A Schindler 3300AP was installed for the specific use of disabled passengers as well as a Schindler 2600 passenger /goods lift. Two Schindler 9300AE escalators were also selected which are supported on specially designed seismic mountings.
Four Schindler MMR (mini machine room) lifts, one being a goods lift, were selected for the Novotel Hotel at Auckland International Airport for a minimum footprint and reduced machine noise, particularly for guests on the upper floors. Also a regenerative drive was installed which regenerates power.
Travelling at 2.5 metres per second, the lifts cover 12 floors comprising 260 rooms. Each passenger lift has a colour screen in the control panel for displaying images. Finishes were done locally to ensure a certain style was achieved for a great first and last impression to guests. Subtle references to New Zealand culture and heritage were also included in the hotel design.
Moving patients around a hospital needs to be done efficiently and safely. Schindler installed eleven heavy-duty, custom modular elevators and two escalators at Wellington Regional Hospital for this exact purpose.
Three 1600kg-capacity passenger lifts and several 1750kg-2500kg bed/passenger lifts were included in the project. In addition a priority service function was installed which allows authorised personnel to take control of the lift and go to any floor, including the helipad, in case of emergencies.