Forming-laying down the foundation

The building is methodically growing from the ground up. The perimeter grade beams are growing like those 4^th of July snakes that start as black pellets that expand exponentially when lit. Every kid who has played with fireworks can remember the smell of them smoldering. The perimeter French Drain continues to do its job collecting water seeping into the north and east edges of the site and discharging it at the southwest corner of the site. The workers at the site say it is a steady stream 24/7.

The photos at the top provide a panoramic view of the progress of construction on the site. The elevator is the tallest element in the center of the site. The elevator is surrounded by the perimeter footings being formed on the west, north and east sites of the mechanical crawl space.

The site is tight and there is not a lot of room left over beyond the building construction footprint. Materials needed for the current activities are stored on the areas of open site. It is the responsibility of the architect to verify the types and quantities of materials being stored at the site. The purpose is twofold. The first is to verify that the correct materials are being used on the project and the second is to back check the quantities against the amount of the materials that the contractor is requesting for payment.

The first lift of the elevator walls is almost fully formed. When completed, they will ready for fresh concrete to be poured into the cavity filled with rebar. That will likely be the second concrete pour for the site. The elevator shaft will continue to grow vertically as it will eventually extend to the underside of the upper roof deck of the Gallery space.

The footings are being formed on grade; meaning that the bottom of the footing is being formed directly on the prepared sub-grade of earth. The sides of the footings have wooden forms in place that will contain the concrete when it is poured into the forms. Once the concrete has had an initial cure, the forms will be removed and you will see the exposed sides of the grade beams for a while until they are buried in a backfill of select fill dirt. Prior to being filled with concrete, the contractor must allow the building officials to inspect the placement of rebar in the forms and the work on the forms as well. Once that is done, large portions of the footing will be poured and multiple concrete trucks will be lined up at the street.