The Gallery space is surrounded by exterior walls of glass. The configuration of this space and the resulting amount of glass was by design. The concept for this space and the goals for the building as a whole go back to the Visioning phase of the project. Continue reading
Filed under Construction, Design, LEED ®, Materials
The mystery building delivery system that concluded the last post is part of the heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system. More specifically it is part of the HVAC air delivery. There are several different air delivery components to the HVAC system that include rectangular metal ductwork, round metal ductwork, flexible ductwork and under floor ductwork. With the ductwork there is a whole series of accessories that include duct liners, insulation pins and washers, sealants, gaskets, hangers and supports. Continue reading
Filed under Construction, LEED ®, Materials
There are a number of systems within the building that are designed to deliver something unique and specific to that system. We have discussed some of these already, but there are several more that we will see being installed at the project in the weeks to come. Some of these unique delivery systems include: Continue reading
Filed under Construction, LEED ®, Materials
There are other things moving about underground at the Visitor Center. Within the assembly of the building, there are several other systems moving about under the floor slabs.
Throughout design and the development of construction drawings there is a lot of planning that goes into systems integration and coordination and how all these building systems are woven together in a tidy manner. Within the construction sequence, the building must be layered from the ground up and there are certain systems that must go into the ground before being covered up. This post focuses on the systems that are placed underneath the concrete slab on grade. Continue reading
Filed under Construction, Design, LEED ®, Materials
3D View of the Structural Steel Fame
The stage is continually being set for the upcoming construction activities. There is an important sequence of steps that occurs from visioning and design concepts to the realization of the project in its physical form. We have been through many of these to date in previous posts: Continue reading
Filed under Construction, Materials
One of the feared and dreaded infiltration movements in architecture is the movement of moisture into a building. Keeping water out of buildings is a constant vigil within the industry. We’ll take a look at how stopping this movement below the surface, underground, has been addressed. A fair amount of the underground waterproofing has been installed at the Visitor Center at this point; particularly on the north side of the project where the building is tucked into the sloping site.
No one wants to hear the words “roof leak, window leak, wall leak or any other kind of leak” that shows up as stained ceilings, stained walls, wet carpet or worse. However, one of our more noted colleagues, Frank Lloyd Wright once said, “if the roof doesn’t leak, the architect hasn’t been creative enough.” Frank is certainly known for his creative architecture, but may also have a share of famous buildings that have experienced water infiltration.
Aevar Hardarson, an architect and research fellow at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, took a shot at providing insights to this problem area in a doctorial study Continue reading
Filed under Background, Construction, Design, Materials
We wish you a Prosperous, Healthy and Joyous 2013
We are starting a new year at the project site, but essentially picking up where we left off. We meet at the site for a project progress meeting every other week. The last meeting was December 20, 2012 and the next meeting will be January 10, 2013 with a little interruption due to the holidays. The Contractor maps out a 3 week look ahead to share the anticipated construction activities that will occur in the coming weeks. Construction schedules are always a work in progress as any number of things can crop us that either accelerate or delay the schedule. The 3 week look ahead shared on December 20 is shown below. Recent snow and ice have pushed some activities off by about a week. Continue reading
Filed under Construction, Design, Materials
Happy Holidays to All and Wishes of a Peaceful New Year
The holiday season tends to bring about joyful reflection on the year, spiritual celebrations and with the coming of the New Year, thoughts about what lays ahead. The Visitor Center Blog has been tracking what we believe is a special project in the making. We have been sharing with you each week a look into the challenges, successes and progress of the project. We have been sharing the process of achieving LEED Gold certification. We have progressed from a Vision with the Chickasaw Nation to being under construction and you have met a number of players along the way. This is the trail we have traveled. Continue reading
Filed under Background, Construction, Design, Guests, Interior, LEED ®, Materials
There are many things considered “cast” in the building industry. The cast system we are discussing is related to construction and in that regard we are talking about materials at the site that are fabricated in situ (in place). So we are looking at those items that are cast-in-place at the project site. There are a variety of items that could potentially be cast-in-place on a project, but by enlarge the most significant cast-in-place product at the site is concrete.
Let’s look at the nature of concrete on the project. The drawings and specifications guide the contractor in the construction of the cast-in-place (CIP) concrete systems. So, we will take a look at the specifications for CIP Concrete which is located in specification Section 033000. At some point for reference we will need to calculate the amount (volume) of concrete in the project to get an order of magnitude of the quantity involved. We are several pours down the road and the amount that has been poured increases weekly.
The Cast-In-Place Concrete Specification covers some of the following: Continue reading
Filed under Construction, Materials
Interview by Fred Schmidt
Justin Woolverton is the Project Manager for Flintco (construction company) on the Chickasaw Visitor Center project. He is basically responsible for running the overall project day to day at the site.
So Justin, this is a pretty cool project.
Justin: Yeah, even Mark Grimes (president of Flintco Oklahoma City) has told us that per square foot this is the highest budget job that Flintco has ever done, maybe all of Flintco. So that right there gives you an inkling of what we are into. We are only talking 8500 square feet. Square footage wise, it’s not that big of a job. Even site wise, there’s not a lot of site work. So there’s a lot packed in there into a small space. But I think once it gets done, it’ll be something we can all be proud of; proud to be a part of you know.
You have somebody who takes care of the LEED side of things on the project? Continue reading
Filed under Construction, Guests, LEED ®, Materials
.
.
Design Matters 