Innovative Solutions Unveil 85-Foot-Tall River Ceiling at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

Innovative solutions recently unveiled the 85-foot-tall river ceiling at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for its North Satellite Modernization Project, located in Washington. The Hensel Phelps’ Pacific Northwest team was tasked with building the towering ceiling.

During the early planning stages, it was determined that a scaffold would be the best way to build it. The challenge: suspending a scaffold above the main passenger corridor currently serving 10 operational gates for Alaska Airlines, while simultaneously completing work above. Through innovative thinking and careful planning, the team decided temporary steel beams spanning across a 46-foot gap between roof trusses would carry a scaffold sturdy enough to complete all overhead work, including the HVAC system, fire protection and the central “river” linear wood ceiling. Additionally, the team used this scaffold several levels below the main work deck to build the walls traveling up to the curtainwall above.

As this work was coming to an end, Hensel Phelps needed to remove the steel beams. Through planning and cooperation with trade partners and engineers, a “skid” was developed that would sit on three beams while pulling one beam out into the mechanical catwalk area adjacent to the river. This eliminated a potential risk to airport operations and traveling public and provided a significant safety improvement to the work plan.

Over the course of four nights, all 26 beams were safely and efficiently removed with no injuries ─ revealing the soaring 85-foot-tall river ceiling with no impacts to the airport and Alaska Airlines operations.

The $473-million renovation and expansion of the existing 95,000-square-foot North Satellite will increase the number of aircraft gates from 12 to 20 and extend the building 181,000 square feet to better serve Alaska Airlines’ passengers.