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 it’s 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. Pro-Bel renovated the existing fall protection and window washing systems during this phase.

Pro-Bel Technical Solution

The original system design needed several updates to ensure its compliance with current OSHA regulations. We retrofited the original monorail track system with motorized trolleys and replaced the old stage/ platform with a newly single man work cage/platform featuring a guide roller track and custom guide roller arm for stabilization in order to keep the platform up against the facade. The monorail system is intended to traverse horizontally around the building, in contrast to 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.