The Century Project

400 Broad Street,Seattle, Washington
Height: 604ft (Top Floor 518ft)
General Contractor: Hoffman Construction Company of Washington
Architect: Olson Kundig Architects
Pro-Bel services provided: Design, Engineering, Manufacture, Supply and Install, and Inspection

The iconic Space Needle is a Seattle Landmark built in 1962 for the Century 21 Exposition. The tower’s futuristic design and panoramic views are efforts by its creators to build a tower that represents a new wave of cultural events and technological innovation brought on by the Space Age.

Between 2017 and 2018, the tower underwent Phase 1 of a multiyear renovation plan. During this phase, Pro-Bel renovated the existing fall protection and window washing systems.

Pro-Bel Technical Solution

The original system design needed several updates to comply with current OSHA regulations. We retrofitted the original monorail track system with motorized trolleys. We replaced the old stage/ platform with a new single-man work cage/platform featuring a guide roller track and a custom guide roller arm for stabilization to keep the platform up against the facade. The monorail system is intended to traverse horizontally around the building, unlike many systems we installed that service exteriors vertically. It is also important to note that we installed interior bolt-through anchors at the monorail entry point for fall protection and safe access.

The iconic Space Needle is a Seattle Landmark built in 1962 for the Century 21 Exposition. The tower’s futuristic design and panoramic views are efforts by its creators to build a tower that represents a new wave of cultural events and technological innovation brought on by the Space Age.

Between 2017 and 2018, the tower underwent Phase 1 of a multiyear renovation plan. During this phase, Pro-Bel renovated the existing fall protection and window washing systems.

Pro-Bel Technical Solution

The original system design needed several updates to comply with current OSHA regulations. We retrofitted the original monorail track system with motorized trolleys. We replaced the old stage/ platform with a new single-man work cage/platform featuring a guide roller track and a custom guide roller arm for stabilization to keep the platform up against the facade. The monorail system is intended to traverse horizontally around the building, unlike many systems we installed that service exteriors vertically. It is also important to note that we installed interior bolt-through anchors at the monorail entry point for fall protection and safe access.