Skanska USA Building of Atlanta is overseeing a massive undertaking to replace all of the windows in the tornado-damaged Westin Peachtree Plaza of Atlanta. All 6,350 windows in the 73-story hotel will be replaced over a period of approximately 15 months. Hotel operations will continue throughout the replacement.

Damage to the hotel occurred in March 2008 when a tornado hit downtown Atlanta and struck the Westin. The storm initially disabled 320 of the hotel’s 1,068 rooms.

Skanska is working with architect Arnold & Associates and Harmon Glass, both of Atlanta, to complete the project. The project includes the replacement of the windows of the hotel’s Sun Dial Restaurant Bar and View, which rests atop the 73-story structure.

“Replacing all the glass in the Sun Dial Restaurant Bar & View is like re-skinning a three-story restaurant that is 70 stories up in the air,” stated Skanska’s John Reyhan, executive vice president and general manager of the Georgia division.

Skanska will install a weather station on the roof of the hotel to monitor the wind and weather constantly throughout the project. More than 600 tons of glass from the existing windows will be recycled as part of the project. Skanska will suspend 12 platforms around the entire perimeter of the 73-story hotel to conduct the top-to-bottom window replacement project.