While the Visitor Center overall is a split level, each of the two levels is basically a one story structure. The level above the floor slab in our case is the roof plane. So taking it to the next level and for us the highest level of the project means topping out the building with the roof structure. Continue reading
Filed under Construction, Design, Materials
Concrete slabs on grade are one thing, but elevated concrete slabs are quite another. Concrete slabs on grade are supported by the earth over which they are poured. There is attention given to preparing the sub-grades for proper support and stability. Elevated slabs must be supported by a structural system of beams and columns or load bearing walls. In our case, the elevated slab of the Gallery area is being supported by beams that are supported by a combination of interior steel columns and cast-in-place concrete load bearing walls around the perimeter of the building. Continue reading
Filed under Construction, Design, Materials
The project is in the stages of steel erection and the vertical columns are pretty much in place. As the steel members meet with other steel members or portions of the building, it’s all about making the connections; how the members fasten to one another. The horizontal steel is now going in and the first order of business is installing the floor beams for the Gallery space. In the sketch above, there are workmen that are part of the steel erection team and in the background is the familiar sign for the local business serving morning sweet deights; the Donut Shop. The floor beams are installed and the metal decking is being put into place over the beams. The elevated concrete slab will be poured over the metal deck and will become the floor surface for the Gallery. Continue reading
Filed under Construction, Design, Materials
Interview by Fred Schmidt
Getting to Know the Players-Take Seven
Chris Willis is one of the structural engineers on the Visitor Center project. You previously met Tom Bush also a structural engineer. Chris’s greater area of expertise and focus for project is the structural steel.
Chris, recap for the followers what your role is on this project.
Chris: My role is to take care of the superstructure, complete the plan sheets and work out the most important details for the purpose of detailing the structure.
Now that you have been working on the project and it’s under construction, what do you think about the project in general? Continue reading
The structural steel and its installation at the job site is one of the major construction activities that have been ongoing in recent weeks. The steel pieces had been previously delivered to the job and were being stored in available open areas on the very space constrained site for the Visitor Center. Two groups of steel have been placed first. The vertical steel columns surrounding the high bay Gallery area and the horizontal beams that will support the raised floor slab in the same high bay Gallery area. Continue reading
Filed under Construction, Design, LEED ®, Materials
Picking back up with the exterior glass of the Visitor Center, we’ll take a look at the shop drawing submittals. The industry term for the glass units that fit in the aluminum framing is “Glazing.” The post on “Transparency-seeing through it all” focused on the glazing portion of the system. This time we will focus on the aluminum framing system that holds the glass in place.
The above image shows the north elevation of the Visitor Center and the corresponding shop drawing submittals for the large area of aluminum framing. Continue reading
Filed under Construction, Materials
Looking Forward
The site sketch above provides some clues to the main activity on the job site. We’ll take a break from glass research and catch up on what’s ahead. The recent 3 week look ahead that was discussed at the site meeting indicates 8 major activities that will be the focus of construction in the coming days: Continue reading
Filed under Construction, Materials
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
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Design Matters 