Carpet

Away from the dust and noise . . . an afternoon at the Mart selecting carpet.

August - September

There has been a great deal happening at Harris in the last two months and the site has been overrun with equipment and simmering with activity.  One day, in August, I counted twelve pieces of machinery on site.  i.e. backhoes, telescoping booms, cranes, etc.  Most of it was in use! 

This time there are two movies documenting the activities at Harris Hall, plus a bonus video.   Dan Weese and I have been talking about congas and bongos (see separate posting on this HERE), so when we heard drumming just outside the construction fence, we had to investigate.  The bonus video, called BOOMSHAKA (after the drumming group) documents what we discovered beyond the fence.  Enjoy.

The BONUS video:

June-July

The image above shows the massive built-up steel beam (four feet high!) that spans above the auditorium (a.k.a. room 107).  This beam carries the (rather significant) load of the building above.  Impressive.

My last posting, I learned from two friends, was blocked from viewing in China.  Evidently these Harris Hall updates are either too controversial or subversive; hopefully not blocked after a qualitative review.  It brings the image to mind of a person similar in disposition as the listener in “The Lives Of Others.” This post is dedicated to that person, should he/she exist, and comes with a personal message:  “Go ahead, let it be.”  The following short movie, certainly to be blocked as well, is a synopsis of the activities at Harris Hall during June and July.  Turn up the volume good and loud! 

Trees

There is a wonderful grove of trees on the west side of Harris Hall; the front side of the building.  When we first started the project, I was extremely protective of the trees, instructing contractors to make awkward maneuvers to avoid damaging them or their roots.  It wasn’t long, however, before quite a number of them had to be removed to make way for new chilled water and steam piping.  And then there was the steam vault.  Another couple of trees gave up their places.  Finally, in June, the reality of the two additions and the earth retention system presented itself:  Yet more trees had to go.  It was painful, particularly for me, since I hate to remove any vegetation at all.  To wit:  When my wife and I built our cabin in Door County, we spent hours tagging and untagging trees with the goal of removing as few trees as possible and only the smallest ones.  Each one was devastating loss, taken to create what is now an oddly meandering driveway.  Fast forward to Harris Hall, and I was playing the same game with Dan Weese.  Tagging trees and untagging trees, hoping to save one or two.  In the end, a large number of trees had to go.  With all the infrastructure work and the additions, there was no way around it.  It was staggering at the time.

As we examined each tree, we began finding fault with them (where we could), to assuage our guilt.  “This one has barely any leaves anyway.”   “Now that the larger one is gone, this scrawny thing looks silly.”  “This isn’t is a tree at all; is an overgrown bush!”  “This thing will fall over anyway (see photo below), when we excavate for the chilled water line (which was true)”

Mid-spring, high winds felled a large branch of a grand old elm on the east side of the building.  The old elm, a spectacular shade tree, was sick (Dutch Elm Disease) and had to come down as well.  Then there was the small forest of pines at the southeast corner, between Harris and West Fairchild.  Installing earth retention demanded that at least half of the trees be removed.  The remaining few would look like orphans. Eventually, we accepted the fact that a new and better landscape plan will be planted next year.  Nevertheless, we lament their loss.

Masonry restoration coordination

Although the facade of Harris Hall appears to be in generally good condition, there is considerable restoration and cleaning that is needed.  After all the building is nearly 100 years old.  Some of the stone is cracked or spalled (see photo below for a sample of a spall) and has to be replaced or repaired.  About 25% of the mortar joints need to be ground out and re-grouted.  The parapet is in poor shape and has to be taken apart and re-built.  Lastly, there is general dirt and moss that needs to be cleaned.  The following photos were taken during a June 16, 2009 meeting with the masonry contractor.  At the same time as the masonry coordination meeting, representatives of the architectural firm, Wiss Janey Elstner, engaged by Turner, were inspecting the building for the purpose of preparing an existing conditions survey.

Dan Weese – Jimmy Z (mason) – Don McDougal

Dan Weese – Don McDougal - Jimmy Z (mason)

WJE representative inspecting south facade.

Example of a “spall.”  Spalling can occur for a variety of reasons.  i.e. a rusting anchor can expand behind the stone and exert sufficient pressure to spall the stone.  Settlement or some other pressure exerted from behind the stone can cause a spall.  Simple freeze-thaw action, if water penetrates behind the stone, can cause a spall. 

This photo shows the moss and dirt that has to be scraped and cleaned from the parapet on the north side of the building.

The Start of Something Good

In February, 2009, the architect assembled a package of drawings and specifications for bidding.  Concurrently, I prepared invitations and a bid form.  On March 2, 2009, seven general contractors were invited to submit bids for the renovation of Harris Hal and were informed that they would have the architect’s bid documents delivered to them on Friday, March 13, 2009.  We’re not superstitious.

The bidders were informed that an initial pre-bid conference and walk-through of the building would take place at 1:00 p.m., Wednesday, March 11, 2009.  A second, follow-up pre-bid walk-though was scheduled to take place exactly one week later.  The attendance at the first pre-bid was good; as expected.  Attendance at the second meet was staggering.  Whereas the first meeting was attended by general contractors and some sub-contractors, the second meeting was an elbow-to-elbow affair with about 120-130 attendees.  Good thing we didn't have donuts; we would have been short.  I had never seen so many people attend a pre-bid conference; evidence of our economic times.

Bids were due Friday, April 3rd, however, contractors asked for additional time.  The issuance of several clarifying addendum was routine, but the sheer number of sub-contactors bidding, I think, was taxing the estimating teams.  Some contractors reported that over two dozen mechanical sub-contactors provided bids and over thirty electrical sub-contractors threw their hats into the ring.  It takes time to analyze that much data.  The bid date was pushed forward to April 6th (my birthday).

It took me a day and half to synthesize all the bid information into a comparative spreadsheet and yet more time to wade through the other supporting information: bid qualifications, schedules, logistics plan, resumes, etc.  Four of the seven GC’s were invited to meetings to review scope, schedule, logistics and staffing, as well as to discuss their bid exceptions.  A couple of weeks later, following a detailed examination of the bids, the work was awarded to the low bidder, Turner Construction Company.  But admittedly, the excitement of the moment, was a bit overshadowed by the knowledge that the other qualified bidders, who had worked so hard in the effort to land the job, were left disappointed.

Good Team

The Turner construction team is led by two very seasoned construction executives.  Anthony Douglas, Project Executive, will be responsible for the overall management of the project.  Anthony was most recently headed up the renovation of Annie May Swift, and has worked on Wieboldt Hall (Chicago Campus), a renovation in Rubloff Building (Chicago Campus), and a $3.1 million renovation in the Jacobs Center.  Ron McAllister, Project Superintendent, will oversee the day-to-day construction work at Harris Hall.  Ron most recently completed the much anticipated new Modern Wing addition to the Art Institute of Chicago. Prior to that he was the Project Superintendent on the Robert H. Lurie Medical Research Center (Chicago Campus).  Anthony and Ron will be supported by Don McDougal, Project Engineer and Mike Long, Assistant Project Engineer.  To be sure, the project is in capable hands.

Now what?

We submitted an application for a building permit some time ago. The drawings have been reviewed by the City of Evanston and issuance of a permit is pending two things:  First, a permit by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, fondly referred to by their acronym, MWRD.  Presently the drawings are “in the system,” and we hope to have them back within the next month or so.  Second, we await drawings and calculations from the earth retention sub-contractor, Thatcher Foundations.  These must be submitted to the City, reviewed and approved, before they will issue the permit.  Meanwhile, the piping work that AMS Mechanical has been doing outside the building is all but finished and Turner plans to undertake some additional demolition within the next few weeks.  The plan, pending the building permit, is to start construction in earnest the first week of July.

Steam vault construction