Alimak Hek awarded big contract in Atlanta
The Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel in downtown Atlanta was damaged by a tornado a year and a half ago and had 81 windows blown out. The owner of the building contracted Skanska for the repair and renovation project, with Harmon Glass as the glazing contractor, who in turn contracted Alimak Hek for access solutions at the site.
Harmon Glass are replacing all of the windows, with more than 5,000 pieces of glass. The existing windows are only ¼" thick (6.35 mm) (single pane) and no longer meet code. The replacement windows are 1/2" (12.7 mm) insulated glass.
The solution from Alimak Hek is a dual elevator set up at street level and consists of a left hand ALIMAK SCANDO SC 650 with a "C" door and a right hand 28/37 TD with a "C" door. The upper elevator (dual) consists of a LH SC 650 and a RH 28/37, both with regular "A" and "B" doors. The LH elevators will handle the new glass. Most of the windows are 9' (2.74 m) tall but the upper windows are 13' (3.9 m) tall, hence the need for the SC 650.
Later on, three HEK MS ProMax mast climbing work platforms will be added on the "bubble" surrounding the scenic elevator operating outside the building. These platforms will be used to install the glass from the outside on the "bubble". The glass in the building will be installed from the inside.
An interesting detail with the building (and the project) is that it was designed by John Portman, a very famous Atlanta architect and real estate developer. The General Contractor was J.A. Jones from Charlotte, North Carolina. Alimak Hek worked with the original structural engineer from Birmingham on this project who is around 70 years old today. At the time this building was built it was the tallest concrete building in the world: 70 stories tall! It was built using a new technology (at that time), with lightweight aggregates (rocks) in the concrete.