Sky lobby


A sky lobby is an intermediate interchange floor in a skyscraper where people can change from an express elevator 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 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 elevators.
Early uses of the sky lobby include the original Twin Towers of the World Trade Center and 875 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago.

One World Trade Center (Manhattan)

is the tallest skyscraper in New York City. Like the original World Trade Center buildings it replaced, the new building has a sky lobby to balance the loads and convenience of individuals ascending via the elevators. The sky lobby is located on the 64th floor, and serves all passengers wishing to travel from the ground floor lobby to higher floors. Each set of approximately 5-6 stories is served by one bank of elevators. The elevators from the ground floor to the 64th floor sky lobby are the fastest in the Western Hemisphere, traveling at the same speed as the elevators used for the nonstop One World Observatory service, which transports guests to the 100th floor in under one minute.

875 North Michigan Avenue (Chicago)

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 all three of the elevators stopping at one of the parking garage levels. 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 tower'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, offices for the managers of the residential condominium, and a polling station for residents during elections.
Floors above 92 are serviced by direct passenger elevators from the ground floor, and by two freight elevators that run from floors 44 to 98.

Buildings with sky lobbies

Building NameYearLocationFloors of sky lobby
875 North Michigan Avenue1969Chicago, Illinois, United States44
30 Hudson Yards2019New York City, New York, United States35
One World Trade Center1972New York City, New York, United States44, 78
Two World Trade Center1973New York City, New York, United States44, 78
Willis Tower1973Chicago, Illinois, United States33/34, 66/67
NatWest Tower1980London, United Kingdom23/24
JPMorgan Chase Tower 1982Houston, Texas, United States60
Wells Fargo Plaza 1983Houston, Texas, United States34/35, 58/59
Williams Tower1983Houston, Texas, United States51
Columbia Center1985Seattle, Washington, United States40
Miami Tower1987Miami, Florida, United States11
Seattle Municipal Tower1990Seattle, Washington, United States40
Petronas Twin Towers1999Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia41/42
Izumi Garden Tower2002Tokyo, Japan–
First World Hotel2008Genting Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia3, 8
Taipei 1012004Taipei, Taiwan35/36, 59/60
Shin Kong Life Tower1993Taipei, Taiwan16
Revenue Tower1990Wan Chai North, Hong Kong–
Immigration Tower1990Wan Chai North, Hong Kong–
Central Plaza1992Wan Chai North, Hong Kong–
The Center1998Central, Hong Kong42
Two International Finance Centre2003Central, Hong Kong33, 35, 55, 56
Bloomberg Tower2004New York City, New York, United States6, 20
Nina Tower2006Tsuen Wan, New Territories, Hong Kong41
One Island East2005Quarry Bay, Hong Kong36, 37
The Bow2007Calgary, Alberta, Canada18, 36, 58
Shanghai World Financial Center2008Shanghai, China28/29, 52/53
Burj Khalifa2010Dubai, United Arab Emirates43, 76, 123
200 West Street2009New York City, New York, United States11
International Commerce Centre2010West Kowloon, Hong Kong48/49, 88, 98/99
Jeddah Tower2020Jeddah, Saudi Arabia42/43, 75/76, 125/126
One World Trade Center2014New York City, New York, United States64
Rosslyn Central Place Office Tower2016Arlington, Virginia, United States6
Lakhta Center2018Saint Petersburg, Russia29/30, 53/54
Australia 1082019Melbourne, Australia83, 84
Wilshire Grand Tower2017Los Angeles, California, United States70
Shanghai Tower2015Shanghai, China22/23, 37/38, 52/53, 68/69, 101
Wuhan Greenland Center2018Wuhan, China25/26, 49/50, 70, 116/117
Tokyo Sky Tree2012Sumida, Tokyo, Japan4F, 350m
Wisma 461996Jakarta, Indonesia46
PNB 1182021Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia40/42, 76/78
UOB Plaza Tower One1995Singapore, Singapore37–38
S2 Building EEPIS2015Surabaya, Indonesia1
Darmo Trade Center Wonokromo2004/2005Wonokromo, Surabaya, Indonesia1
Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower2012Makkah, Saudi ArabiaM2, M4
Plaza Tunjungan 52015Surabaya, Indonesia20