A chiller is one of the major components of a large building’s HVAC system. The UW Tower, a 22 story building constructed in 1974, needed to have its old chiller machinery replaced. The chiller is on the roof. It requires a rather ginormous crane to lift heavy machinery to the roof of a 22 story building. The best time to do this was when the adjacent lot had been cleared to make way for the light rail station.
The crane arrives on site.
A smaller crane is assembling the large crane.
Assembly continues.
Attaching the jib to the boom.
The jib assembled and ready to hoist.
There is an arm that supports the jib. Here it is extended out.
The main boom raised but not yet extended. It is a telescoping boom.
Close up of the crane carriage. The entire weight of the crane plus load is supported by and balanced by four outriggers.
On the left is part of the new chiller being hoisted up.
The old chiller components are sitting on the flatbed trailers.
Yup, that’s one big crane, 23 stories tall.
The jib atop the boom which extends the crane’s reach another 150 feet or so.
The lower part of the crane.
The crane after the lift has been completed.
Disassembly after a job well done.
Time to go home.
Some of the above photos, those labeled “SoundTransit_20140421xxxxx”, were taken by the Sound Transit web cam atop the Neptune theater.
A photographic archive of some recent UW construction projects
