World Architecture News awards KONE MonoSpace 500 elevator the 2012 Product of the Year

KONE Corporation, trade press release, November 23, 2012

KONE, an innovative leader in elevator and escalator industry, has received the coveted World Architecture News (WAN) 2012 Product of the Year award for its new KONE MonoSpace® 500 elevator. A global architect communication channel followed by 220,000 architects worldwide, WAN selects the Product of the Year to celebrate and promote the best in architectural products and materials.

The panel of judges consisting of experts from various disciplines and organizations, was impressed by the product's eco-efficiency and strong focus on sustainability. Thanks to the renewed KONE EcoDisc® hoisting machine, a highly efficient regenerative drive, enhanced standby solutions and intelligent LED lighting, the new MonoSpace elevators are up to 35 per cent more energy efficient than the company's previous industry leading elevator platform and meet the VDI A rating for energy consumption. In addition, over 90 per cent of the MonoSpace can be recycled at the end of its design life cycle.

However, it is not only the energy efficiency that made the KONE MonoSpace stand out. As Brendon Moss of the property company Land Securities pointed out: "All the items KONE listed in its submission point towards innovation in the lift industry." These included design and user experience, ride comfort and space optimization.

"We are extremely happy about this award and consider it a recognition of our efforts to continuously improve the customer and user experience and enable a smooth flow of people in different kinds of urban environments," said Heikki Leppänen, Executive Vice President of New Equipment Business at KONE.

WAN is a global architect communication channel that is followed by 220,000 architects worldwide. It holds the international competition to celebrate and promote the best in architectural products and materials.

The jury panel was made up of representatives from ALL Design, Pilkington, Land Securities, the Institute of Making and Buro Happold. This year, the WAN Product of the Year Award was sponsored by BAU, the world's leading trade fair for architecture, materials and systems. The award will be presented to KONE at BAU's next event in Munich, Germany in January 2013.

For further information, please contact:

Liisa Kivelä, Director, External communications, KONE Corporation, tel. +358 204 4330

Read more
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about the World Architecture News 2012 Product of the Year at WAN website