By Sam Robertson | Branch Manager – Vancouver
As super tall buildings continue to evolve, so do the expectations on their vertical transportation systems. In a recent conversation, I sat down with industry experts Eric Peterson from GUNN and VDA’s Michael Munoz and Bobby Kemple to discuss the future of vertical transportation in super tall buildings — from flexible elevator cores and destination dispatch systems to adaptive reuse trends and evolving occupant expectations.
Today’s towers are no longer designed around a single-use tenant profile or predictable occupancy patterns. Instead, developers and designers are navigating mixed-use programs, hybrid work trends, shifting tenant demands, and rapidly advancing technologies — all while trying to create seamless occupant experiences.
So how do you design elevator systems that can adapt over decades of change?
The answer increasingly lies in flexibility.
Designing for Change, Not Just Day One
One of the emerging strategies discussed by the group is the concept of flexible or “swing” elevator cores. Some OEMs are already developing systems designed to dynamically adapt elevator groupings based on real-time building demand.
In a mixed-use tower, for example, residential traffic patterns often peak at different times than office traffic. Rather than dedicating fixed elevator banks to each occupancy type, future-ready systems may allow certain elevators to shift between groups throughout the day.
A middle bank of elevators with front and rear openings could serve residential users during morning and evening peaks, then transition to support office traffic during business hours. These adaptable “swing groups” create operational flexibility while maximizing efficiency within constrained core space.
This level of responsiveness depends heavily on destination dispatch (DD) technology. Unlike traditional elevator systems, DD enables dynamic, demand-based allocation of elevators in real time, allowing systems to continuously optimize based on actual passenger flow.
Adaptive Buildings Require Adaptive Elevator Strategies
Across many major cities, aging office buildings with declining occupancy are increasingly being converted into residential or hotel properties. As housing demand grows and commercial office demand shifts, developers are looking for ways to reposition underperforming assets.
From a vertical transportation perspective, office-to-residential conversions are often feasible because office towers were historically designed with higher elevator capacities and traffic demands. In many cases, those buildings already have more elevator infrastructure than a residential program requires.
The reverse, however, is far more difficult. Residential buildings typically lack the elevator capacity necessary to support office-level traffic demands, making residential-to-office conversions significantly more challenging.
These trends reinforce the importance of designing systems with long-term flexibility in mind — not simply for today’s tenant mix, but for how buildings may evolve over time.
Occupant Experience Is Now a Core Performance Metric
In premium office and residential towers, elevator performance is no longer judged solely by speed or handling capacity. Occupants increasingly expect a seamless, frictionless experience that aligns with the overall quality of the building.
For Class A office environments especially, elevator systems are part of a much broader ecosystem that includes security, HVAC performance, floorplate efficiency, and tenant amenities. Vertical transportation must support both operational efficiency and perceived building quality.
There are also well-established industry benchmarks for acceptable wait times and ride durations. Buildings that fail to meet these expectations can quickly become less competitive in the market.
Rather than balancing efficiency against occupant experience, many experts argue that the two are now inseparable.
The Growing Role of Integrated Technologies
Emerging technologies such as biometric screening, facial recognition, and integrated security systems are also reshaping how people move through buildings.
By reducing bottlenecks at building entrances and security checkpoints, these systems can dramatically increase the speed at which occupants enter elevator lobbies. But improving one system places greater pressure on the next.
As security throughput accelerates, elevator systems must also become more efficient to handle the increased flow of people. In many ways, building systems are now evolving together — each advancement driving optimization across the others.
This interconnected approach is becoming increasingly important in super tall buildings, where even minor inefficiencies can ripple across thousands of occupants each day.
Looking Ahead
The future of vertical transportation in super tall buildings is less about designing static systems and more about creating adaptable ecosystems.
Flexible elevator groupings, destination dispatch technology, integrated security systems, and conversion-ready infrastructure are all shaping the next generation of high-rise design. As tenant expectations and building uses continue to evolve, the most successful projects will be the ones designed to evolve alongside them.
Because in the future of super tall buildings, adaptability may be the most valuable feature of all.
In Part 2 we’ll cover regional influence, mixed-use complexity, and the limits of vertical transportation. In the meantime, reach out to your local GUNN office to talk all things Super Tall!