On the outskirts of the medieval city of Rottweil, in southeastern Germany and surrounded by the Black Forest, an 800-foot skyscraper dominates the terrain.
Considered one of the tallest buildings in the country, the TK Elevator Testturm was not built to house people, nor to be filled with rows of office desks, but rather it was created to test the latest elevator models.
Built in 2017 by engineering firm TK Elevator, the tower houses 12 shafts where next-generation elevators are being tested.
It is currently testing TK Elevator’s MULTI system, which uses magnetic levitation, or maglev, to pull elevator cars both horizontally and vertically quickly and smoothly.
The feature is intended to reduce elevator wait times in high-rise buildings.
The TK Elevator test tower in Rottwei was built to test elevator systems
The tower rises to more than 800 feet.
The structure is currently testing TK Elevator’s MULTI system.
The building also has a façade designed to minimize vibrations caused by the wind.
It is reminiscent of the floating glass elevator seen in the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, based on the book by Roald Dahl.
He welcomes visits from engineers and architects from around the world eager to try out his cutting-edge designs, and locals consider the tower a cultural landmark as well as an industrial facility.
The structure features an observation deck at 761 feet, allowing its visitors to enjoy stunning views of the surrounding forest and the Swiss Alps, a feature that has attracted dozens of tourists to this rural location.
The tower was built using a slipform technique so that it would grow 13 feet on the most productive days.
The tower is located in the middle of the Black Forest in southeastern Germany, near the city of Rottweil.
The tower has attracted several tourists due to its observation deck that offers stunning panoramic views of the surrounding forest and the Alps.
Visitors meet on the visitor platform of the Thyssenkrupp test tower.
At 800 feet, the tower is the tallest publicly accessible observation deck in Germany.
Additionally, each of the tower cabins is self-propelled and uses a multi-level braking system and transfers power from the axle to the cabin and vice versa.
A magnetized coil running along the elevator shaft repels magnets on the outside of the cars, allowing the cars to levitate on a so-called guideway, causing a magnetic field in front of the car to push it forward, while that a field in the rear will add oomph.
But the Rottweil tower is not the only one used to test new elevator technologies.
Tower H1, built by Japanese firm Gitachi and standing 848 feet tall, tests elevators in Guangzhou, China.
Meanwhile, Kone has built test towers in Finland and China.