Bronze beauty reawakened

March 24, 2020

Madrid’s 22-floor Edificio Bronce – or Torre Bronce (Bronze Building) as the locals refer to it – was built in 1990 as one of the first locations in the city designed exclusively for office use. Conveniently located in the downtown district, it is one of the capital’s most accessible workplaces, currently hosting the headquarters of the Spanish Basketball Federation and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment España.

But after three decades in heavy use, the bronze beauty’s years were beginning to show. Handling a daily flow of more than 1,000 people, the six elevators to the offices and the two elevators to the basement car park were simply not moving people fast enough. When KONE was tasked with their modernization, the average waiting time for an elevator during rush hour was an unacceptable six minutes.

“As the tenant population and use of elevators increased, the high energy consumption of the elevators furthermore caused high temperatures in the machine room, leading to frequent breakdowns,” explains Ricardo García, maintenance manager of Edificio Bronce.

The transformation of Edificio Bronce began in 2014 with the modernization of four elevators, adding a new KONE ReGenerate™ 800 solution comprising new hoisting machinery, controller and electrification system. The KONE Polaris™ Hybrid destination control system was also implemented further improving handling capacity and passenger comfort through shorter journey times and fewer intermediate stops.

The KONE E-Link™ equipment monitoring system was also installed to maintain maximum efficiency, providing an accurate view of the transportation status, demand, traffic performance, and availability of the elevators in the building.

This combination proved to be highly effective, with rush hour waiting times cut by more than 60%.

“The main hall of the building doesn’t get crowded anymore. Maintaining a high quality of life for our occupants on the move is of the highest priority,” says García.

This was the turning point says García. "We realized that a long-term relationship could only enhance the people flow in the building."

Following excellent results from the first phase, the upgrades continued in 2018 with the installation of the comprehensive KONE Access™ solution, featuring a fully scalable access control system that is integrated with the elevator system. Four Kone Turnstile 100 units were also installed to improve occupant flow while maintaining strong access control protocols.

Completed in 2019, the final phase saw the modernization of the remaining two elevators. The two car park elevators were replaced with new, energy efficient KONE NanoSpace™ elevators designed for rapid installation.

All the elevators in the building are linked to KONE 24/7 Connected Services, a cloud-based predictive maintenance system that harnesses data collected by sensors in the elevators to improve equipment performance, reliability and safety – identifying any problems before they cause breakdowns.

“After seeing the value of the KONE solutions, we decided to install KONE 24/7 Connected Services because of the reliability and the comfort of predictive maintenance,” says García. “Personally, it makes my work easier!”

With tenants already frustrated by long waits, making them wait even longer due to service outages was not an option. The project’s biggest challenge was performing the upgrades with the building still at 100% occupancy, says Sergio Álvarez, Modernization and New Equipment Business Director at KONE Spain.

“Stopping an elevator to modernize it was a real challenge. But we coordinated schedules and also worked at night. The customer recognized the dedication and good work of our service technician team,” says Álvarez.

Edificio Bronce is the first in Spain to feature a complete package of KONE Advanced People Flow solutions.

In addition to shaving minutes off of elevator waiting times, the renovation improved the property’s energy efficiency and security, bringing in a modern access control system and increased equipment reliability through IoT-powered predictive maintenance.

As the icing on the cake, the decor of the lobby area was upgraded with a clean, contemporary look that complements the sleek design of the KONE equipment.

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Quick facts: Edificio Bronce, Madrid, Spain
KONE 24/7 Connected Services
KONE Advanced People Flow Solutions
Embracing the new, the future of offices and working
Onward and upward