Skylobby
Encyclopedia
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
that stops only at the sky lobby to a local elevator which stops at every floor within a segment of the building. When designing very tall (supertall) buildings supplying enough elevators is a problem – travellers wanting to reach a specific higher floor may conceivably have to stop at a very large number of other floors on the way up to let other passengers off and on. This increases travel time, and indirectly requires many more elevator shafts to still allow acceptable travel times – thus reducing effective floor space on each floor for all levels. (The other main technique to increase usage without adding more elevator shafts is double-deck elevator
Double-deck elevator
Double-deck elevators are designed with two elevator cars that are attached, one on top of the other. This allows passengers on two consecutive floors to be able to use the elevator simultaneously, significantly increasing the passenger capacity of an elevator shaft...
s.)
The sky lobby was invented by Fazlur Khan
Fazlur Khan
Fazlur Rahman Khan was a Bangladeshi born architect and structural engineer. He is a central figure behind the "Second Chicago School" of architecture, and is regarded as the "Father of tubular design for high-rises"...
, a Bangladeshi American
Bangladeshi American
Bangladeshi Americans are Americans of Bangladeshi descent. The overwhelming majority of Bangladeshi Americans are Bengalis. Most of them have immigrated from Sylhet region with a long trading history. Bangladeshi immigrants arrived in the United States especially since the early 1990s to become...
structural engineer, to resolve this issue. It was first used in the John Hancock Center
John Hancock Center
John Hancock Center at 875 North Michigan Avenue in the Streeterville area of Chicago, Illinois, is a 100-story, 1,127-foot tall skyscraper, constructed under the supervision of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, with chief designer Bruce Graham and structural engineer Fazlur Khan...
in Chicago.
John Hancock Center
The John Hancock Center's sky lobby on the 44th floor serves only the residential portion of the building that occupies floors 45–92. Three express elevators run from the residential lobby on the ground floor to the 44th floor, with two of the elevators stopping at the parking garage's main level on floor 6. At floor 44, residents transfer to two banks of three elevators. One bank serves floors 45–65 and the other serves 65–92. Although all six elevators stop at floor 65, this floor is roughly the same layout as the residential floors immediately above and below it. It is not a sky lobby because residents can also board elevators to higher floors at floor 44.The Hancock's 44th floor sky lobby includes a pool, gym, dry cleaner, convenience store, about 700 mailboxes, two "party" rooms, a sitting area overlooking Lake Michigan, a small library, a refuse room (with trash chutes emptying here), offices for the managers of the residential condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
, and a polling station for residents during elections.
Floors above 92 are serviced by direct passenger elevators from the ground floor, by an emergency elevator from the ground floor, and by two freight elevators that run from floors 44 to 98.
Buildings with sky lobbies
(in chronological order by construction date)- John Hancock CenterJohn Hancock CenterJohn Hancock Center at 875 North Michigan Avenue in the Streeterville area of Chicago, Illinois, is a 100-story, 1,127-foot tall skyscraper, constructed under the supervision of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, with chief designer Bruce Graham and structural engineer Fazlur Khan...
(Sky lobby at the 44th floor) in Chicago, Illinois, United States - 1 World Trade CenterWorld Trade CenterThe original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
(Contained two sky lobbies at the 44th and 78th floors) in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York, United States - 2 World Trade CenterWorld Trade CenterThe original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
(Contained two sky lobbies at the 44th and 78th floors) in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York, United States - Willis Tower (Formerly Sears Tower—Two double-level sky lobbies at the 33rd/34th and 66th/67th floors) in Chicago, Illinois, United States
- JPMorgan Chase Tower (Houston)JPMorgan Chase Tower (Houston)JPMorgan Chase Tower, formerly Texas Commerce Tower, is a , 75-story skyscraper in Houston, Texas. It is currently the tallest building in the city, the tallest building in Texas, the tallest five-sided building in the world, 12th tallest building in the United States, and the 54th tallest building...
(Sky Lobby located at level 60) in HoustonHouston, TexasHouston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, Texas, United States - Williams TowerWilliams TowerThe Williams Tower is a skyscraper located in the Uptown District of Houston, Texas. It was designed by architects Philip Johnson and John Burgee, in association with Houston-based Morris Architects , and erected in 1983. The tower is among Houston's most visible buildings...
(Sky Lobby located at level 40/41) in HoustonHouston, TexasHouston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, Texas, United States - Columbia CenterColumbia CenterColumbia Center is the tallest skyscraper in the downtown Seattle skyline, as well as the tallest building in the State of Washington, and the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It occupies most of the block bounded by Fourth and Fifth Avenues and Cherry and Columbia Streets...
(Sky lobby at the 40th floor with a Starbucks) in Seattle, Washington, USA - Bank of America TowerBank of America Tower (Miami)The Miami Tower is a 47-story, landmark office skyscraper in Miami, Florida, United States. It is located in central Downtown. It is currently the 8th tallest building in Miami and Florida.-History:...
(Sky lobby at the 11th floor) in Miami, Florida - Seattle Municipal TowerSeattle Municipal TowerSeattle Municipal Tower is a 62-story skyscraper located at 700 5th Avenue at the corner of 5th Avenue and Columbia Street in downtown Seattle, Washington. Rising to , it is the fourth tallest high-rise building in Seattle...
(Sky lobby at the 40th floor) in Seattle, Washington, USA - Izumi Garden TowerIzumi Garden TowerThe is a 216 m high-rise building in the Roppongi district of Tokyo. The tower features a high-end hotel, luxury apartments with views of Tokyo and the Tokyo Tower, a fitness center, offices, shops and restaurants...
in TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... - Petronas Twin TowersPetronas Twin TowersThe Petronas Towers are skyscrapers and twin towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
in Kuala LumpurKuala LumpurKuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, Malaysia, located at level 41/42 - First World HotelFirst World HotelFirst World Hotel is the fourth largest hotel in the world by rooms. It comprises Tower 1 and Tower 2, each with 28 floors, and has a total of 6,118 rooms. It is one of the five hotels located in Genting Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia, along with Genting Hotel, Theme Park Hotel, Highlands Hotel and...
in Genting HighlandsGenting HighlandsGenting Highlands otherwise known as Resorts World Genting is the flagship integrated resort developed by Genting Group. It is nestled on a mountain peak within the Titiwangsa Mountains on the border between the states of Pahang and Selangor of Malaysia...
, PahangPahangPahang is the third largest state in Malaysia, after Sarawak and Sabah, occupying the huge Pahang River river basin. It is bordered to the north by Kelantan, to the west by Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, to the south by Johor and to the east by Terengganu and the South China Sea.Its state...
, Malaysia (Tower 1 and Tower 2 contain sky lobbies at the third and 8th floors respectively—both are connected. Tower 2 is built on lower ground than Tower 1.) - Taipei 101Taipei 101Taipei 101 , formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center, is a landmark skyscraper located in Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan. The building ranked officially as the world's tallest from 2004 until the opening of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2010...
(Two double-level sky lobbies at the 35th/36th and 59th/60th floors) in TaipeiTaipeiTaipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
, TaiwanTaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following... - The Shin Kong Life TowerShin Kong Life TowerShin Kong Life Tower is one of the tallest buildings in Taiwan at 51 stories . The rose-coloured skyscraper topped by a pyramid stands in Zhongzheng District, Taipei. Its first twelve floors and two underground floors house a Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store; the remaining floors provide...
in Taipei has a sky lobby on floor 16, above the department store. - Immigration TowerImmigration TowerThe Immigration Tower is a skyscraper located in the Wan Chai District of Hong Kong. The tower rises 49 floors and in height. The building was completed in 1990. The Immigration Tower, which stands as the 93rd-tallest building in Hong Kong, is composed entirely of office space...
, Wan Chai North, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong - Central Plaza, Wan Chai North, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong
- The CentreThe CentreThe Centre may refer to:* Government of the Soviet Union, was commonly referred to as "the centre"* downtown, a central business district* The Centre , convention center and auditorium in Evansville, Indiana...
, Central, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, the 42nd floor. - Two International Finance CentreInternational Finance CentreThe International Finance Centre is an integrated commercial development on the waterfront of Hong Kong's Central District....
, Central, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, the 33rd, 35th, 55th and 56th floors. - The BowThe Bow (skyscraper)The Bow is a 158,000-square-metre office building currently under construction for the headquarters of EnCana Corporation. It will also be occupied by Cenovus, which was spun off of Encana in late 2009. The skyscraper is being built in downtown Calgary, Alberta...
, Calgary, Calgary Alberta, Canada - Shanghai World Financial CenterShanghai World Financial CenterThe most distinctive feature in the design of the building is an aperture at the peak. The original design specified a circular aperture, in diameter, to reduce the stresses of wind pressure, as well as serve as a subtext for the design, since "Chinese mythology represents the earth with a square...
(Two double-level sky lobbies at the 28/29th and 52/53rd floors) in Shanghai, China - Burj Khalifa, Dubai, the 43rd, 76th and 123rd floors.
- 200 West Street200 West StreetGoldman Sachs Tower is the global headquarters of Goldman Sachs located in Lower Manhattan. The building is a , 43-story building that opened in October 2009 in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Manhattan. It is located on West Street, between Vesey and Murray Streets...
, New York City (Goldman Sachs Building), the 11th floor. - The future Kingdom Tower in JeddahJeddahJeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...
, Saudi ArabiaSaudi ArabiaThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, will have three sky lobbies. It will also be over one kilometer tall. - One World Trade Center, New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
will have a sky lobby located on the 64th floor.