Please turn your device to portrait.
Factory-built elevator modules reduce installation time and on-site risk in 27-storey Songdo project.
Hyundai Elevator has completed the first commercial installation of its modular elevator system, InnoBlock, on a 27-storey residential building at Hillstate Centre Park in Songdo, Incheon. The project marks the first verified application of a modular elevator in a residential tower above 20 storeys, extending a method previously limited to low-rise buildings.
InnoBlock shifts a significant portion of elevator assembly away from the building and into controlled environments. Structural frames, mechanical systems and core components are pre-manufactured as modules, transported to site, and inserted into the shaft using cranes. With more than 90 per cent of elements pre-assembled, on-site work is reduced to alignment, coupling and fixing.
How InnoBlock changes elevator installation
Elevator installation has largely been a shaft-based exercise, assembled in sequence as the building progresses. Each stage builds on the last, tightening tolerances and leaving little room to recover misalignment, while crews continue to work within a confined, high-risk environment.
Hyundai Elevator’s approach reworks that sequence through a “mobile assembly plant” model.
A compact on-site facility, occupying less than 33 square metres, functions as a temporary factory where modules are prepared and staged prior to installation. Large assemblies are delivered in sections, completed locally, and then lifted into position, reducing reliance on in-shaft assembly.
The impact on the programme is measurable. On the Songdo project, installation time for a single elevator was reduced to around 40 days, approximately half the duration associated with conventional methods. Across a full development, the company expects programme reductions of more than two months.
Positioning within modular construction trends
The system targets one of the remaining shaft-dependent trades in high-rise construction. By relocating most of the installation process out of the building, InnoBlock reduces reliance on in-situ assembly rather than simply refining it.
Hyundai Elevator is also positioning the system beyond a single project application, linking it to longer-term shifts in delivery models and procurement expectations. As safety performance and programme certainty carry more weight in project evaluation, approaches that reduce site exposure and compress installation sequences are gaining attention.
Jo Jae-cheon, CEO of Hyundai Elevator, said the system responds directly to those pressures: “InnoBlock is a groundbreaking solution that will transform the construction and development paradigm by reducing high-risk work, inefficiencies, and environmental burdens.” He added that the company intends to extend its application beyond an initial deployment, with a focus on establishing modular elevator delivery as a recognised standard in global markets.
Hyundai Elevator has filed around 50 patents related to InnoBlock across domestic and international markets, covering modular structures, high-rise application and shaft integration, with further filings planned.
Policy pressure is starting to influence how high-risk site activities are handled. In South Korea, stricter safety enforcement and procurement scrutiny are pushing contractors to reconsider shaft-dependent trades. In that context, modular elevator systems move from being a technical option to a risk management decision within the build programme.
Find Hyundai Elevator HERE
