Skyscraper Window-Washers - Take a walk in the clouds
by Alexandra Till
Title
Skyscraper Window-Washers - Take a walk in the clouds
Artist
Alexandra Till
Medium
Photograph - Photographs - Prints - Digital Images - Cards - Posters - Photo-calendars - Photo Art
Description
© Christine Till
(This is Three First National Plaza, Chicago, Il, - 57 floors, Height: 767 feet / 234 meter, built 1981)
With the advent of the glass curtain wall building in the 1950s, windows effectively became the building facade. And because this facade is fixed (the windows don't open) window cleaning requires access from the outside. Window washing remains at the heart of a skyscraper's periodic maintenance routine. Most skyscraper windows will get twice a year. Nearly all of this work is done by hand.
Struggle against ambient dirt and pigeon dung, the window washer's job is also an inherently dangerous one. When you are high up, hanging hundreds of feet above the ground to make big buildings glisten, wind gusts are so high your scaffolding trembles and you need to stop the work until it's over. One wrong move can make for a very bad day. Accidents involving falling or dropping things from great heights off the side of buildings are rare. However, when they do happen, they are often fatal - a falling phone can hit 120 mph before hitting a person or the sidewalk.
But as you climb up the ladders, open this little door and all you see is blue sky the sun feels amazingly close, and it just leaves you speechless.
Uploaded
October 13th, 2012
Embed
Share