January 11, 2010

January 5, 2010

 

Above, Mike Long and Don McDougal (Turner) watch as architect Dan Weese examines stone samples submitted by Mike VanEtten of Murphy Marble Co. (checked shirt).  The existing stone floor in the 1st floor corridor, which we are restoring, is paved with Tennessee Marble (color: Quaker), as are the two stairwells.  The south stair (see photo below) will be entirely re-built and extended to reach the 3rd floor, whereas the north stair and the 1st floor flooring are being cleaned and repaired.  The 1st floor corridor walls are finished with a French Limestone.  Walls, although seemingly in good condition, actually require a lot of work to restore.  There are many cracked and loose pieces of stone.  In addition, both the stone floors and walls have to be cleaned. 

Above:  The south stair hangs by heavy steel rods.  The walls surrounding the stair have been entirely removed.

Above:  Two things going on here.  First, two portions of the 1st floor stone corridor floor and wall were cleaned using two different strengths of cleaner.  Second, several stone samples were submitted for consideration, however, all were too dark.

Above: A pallet of loose and damaged French Limestone pieces that were removed from the 1st floor corridor walls.  The two circled stones were submitted for consideration, but are two dark.  Another submittal is necessary.

Above:  Dreaded review marks on a shop drawing.

Shop Drawings?  What are those?  Glad you asked.  The contract between Northwestern University and the contractor is based on a set of drawings and specifications.  The specifications require that the contractor submit, for every component, certain information to the architect for review to assure compliance with the contract documents.  Generically, this information is referred to as “shop drawings,” primarily because much of this information is submitted in the form of detailed, scale drawings.  Sometimes such submittals consist of nothing more that a simple catalog sheet.  Others involved dozens of large drawings.   The shop drawing process also serves as the vehicle for making material and color selections.  In the case of stone, for example, detailed drawings are submitted, showing the profiles of every stone, as well as a range of stone samples from which selections are made for actual installation. Often, shop drawings are approved on the first submittal.  Sometimes, it takes several submittals before everything is confirmed to be correct.  On a project of this scale there are many shop drawings.  At this point, I have four “banker’s boxes” filled with shop drawings.  See the next photo:

Above:  One of four boxes of shop drawings in my office.  Among the shop drawings are “coordination drawings,” which are drawings that several trades must accurately identify their work within the context of the work of other contractors.  These usually include the work of the electrician, plumber, pipe fitter (heating & cooling), and tin knocker (ventilation ductwork made from sheet metal).

A January 4, 2010 meeting with the Building Committee to review carpeting samples.

Above: Carpet samples.

Above: A typical faculty office has been defined by steel studs.  The plywood will support bookshelves.  Note the progress of the electrician (conduits and junction boxes within the stud walls).

Looking up, in a faculty office, at the “chilled beam,” which delivers, depending on the season, either warm or cold air to individual offices. This design affords a remarkable degree of temperature control for occupants.  Note the insulation within the exterior wall studs (lower left corner of the photo).

“Rock wool” insulation.  It’s green in spite of the fact that it appears brown.

New concrete walls define the accessible ramp at the north side of the building.  These will eventually be clad with stone.

West elevation:  Note the opens that have been cut through the concrete foundation wall.  This will accommodate ductwork and piping between the new subterranean mechanical room (foreground) and the lower level.

New subterranean mechanical room, viewed from the south.

Working in the new mechanical room.  The large tube to the right of the hardhat in the sump pit is one of two temporary braces that will eventually be removed.

The new Classroom L-07.  The floor is stepped to provide superior sight lines of the instructor.

Workmen erecting a temporary scaffold between between the 2nd and 3rd floor. (1-5-09)

3rd floor (1-5-09)

The red arrow is pointed at a portion of a window jamb that still has the original stain and varnish finish.  The yellow arrow below it points to a jamb that is partially stripped.  The left arrow points to a mullion that has been stripped to bare wood.  The process is slow and laborious; yet slower in cold weather. 

Temporary steel supports to facilitate installing a beam.

Creative version of job-built saw horses.

It’s the end of the day. 

November 12, 2009 Update

Some of the concrete walls have been poured.  The structure in the left foreground is an air intake.

 

 

 

Preparing to pour footings.  The concrete is delivered from the concrete truck via a chute to wheelbarrows and then manually placed.  The grid between the form boards is iron rebar that are tied together with steel wires.  This serves to reinforce the concrete.

 

Lower level has been backfilled with “CA-7",” which is a graded crushed stone.  That is, the stone are of relatively uniform size.  What looks like Kraft paper laid over stone, is actually a product called Cetco Ultraseal.  This is a multilayered waterproofing material that combines natural sodium bentonite and a chemically resistant hydrophilic polymer to form a bentonite-polymer alloy (BPA).  The is material has swelling properties that seal small concrete cracks.  The “paper” is simply overlapped. 

Electricians installing conduits under L-107.

Cioni Excavating crane rest atop a massive pile of earth at the southeast corner of the site.

2nd floor:  Note copper heating and cooling piping along the brick wall in the background.  Metal studs, that define the walls, in the foreground.

Architect Dan Weese photographs wood windows on the east side of the 2nd floor.

The 95 year old window frames are being carefully stripped of layers of paint.

After all the paint has been stripped, the wood will be treat with a special epoxy product that will fill any gaps, sanded smooth and repainted.

Building the west basement

The west basement will house the bulk of the mechanical equipment that will serve the building.  Although it is difficult to perceive it in a photo, the excavation is quite deep:  Two stories (20 feet). The adjacent earth, which is very sandy, is held back with steel sheets driven into the ground.  The large, horizontal steel tubes, called whalers, serve to keep this temporary steel “wall” from buckling inward.  The bottom of the excavation is inches above the water table.  What appear to be walls (some spray painted blue) are forms that define the foundation wall.  After the form construction is completed, which includes the steel reinforcement within them, the void between the forms will be filled with concrete.  Many, many truckloads of concrete.  After the concrete has hardened, the forms will be removed (“stripped”) and the new foundation walls will be visible.

When completed, the mechanical room will be entirely subterranean, topped with a new set of stairs, an entry plaza and landscaping.

I shoot with my camera set to record at 9 megapixels and the image files range from about 3,500 to 5,500 pixels in width, depending on the amount of detail and color in the subject.  I normally reduce the image size to 1,000 pixels wide and format the image for viewing on the web.  i.e. so the images load quickly.  However, I really like the amount of detail in the following image, so posted the original image size(3,456 x 2,592 pixels), however, optimized for faster loading.  Click the image to see the steel (“rebar”) between the forms.

The next photo shows the south end of the building.  The foundation wall below the existing fireplace in “the treaty room” (Room 108) has been reinforced with steel and the foundation wall opened.  A second basement will be constructed on the south end of the building and the opening in the foundation wall will be part of a new corridor.

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!