Atriumdouble decker

Canada's Klimer Manufacturing has successfully completed a challenging atrium mast climber installation on the new Marriott Hotel in Grand Rapids, MI.

The glaziers, Antamex International, needed to glaze a 26 floor atrium, and required a 17 feet by 27 feet trapezoidal shaped work platform that fitted exactly the contours of the atrium. It wasn't possible to use a more conventional externally mounted climber because of the inability to attach to the curtain wall system.

In addition to the main platform, a much narrower upper platform – 5 feet wide and supported 9¹/2 feet above the main platform – was installed at the outer edge of the main deck to allow glaziers to make the top connections for the 600 pound, 9 ¹/2 foot high panels. A small traveling hoist to lift and horizontally position the panels was also installed on the platform.

Scheduling constraints meant that the glazing panels could not be stored on the upper floors, so the platform was loaded at the ground and raised with all the personnel and materials required for that shift The platform's capacity was 12,000 pounds plus five men, and maximum traveling speed was 30 feet/min.

One final requirement for the platform was four hydraulically propelled folding arms – one upper and one lower at each end of the platform, 8 feet long and 3 feet wide – to give access to the exterior 8 foot wing walls.

The platforms were on site for five months, but the glazing component of the project was completed within eight weeks.