New Tower. The first concrete has been poured in the tower sub-basement! A corridor and a storage area behind the 360-seat lecture room now have a concrete floor. Other areas of the sub-basement are being prepared with rebar so that lots more concrete can be poured this week.
At the first-floor level both the learning studio and the main entrance (from the corner of Mills Street and University Avenue) are taking shape. Last week insulation was sprayed onto steel trusses above the learning studio and the mullions and rails for the north-facing windows are all in place. Although it is cluttered with shoring and framing yet to be installed, we can now get a good look at what our new main entrance and first-floor atrium are going to look like.
As the building gets taller, it becomes more difficult for the cranes to deliver building materials to the lower floors aboveground. “Pigeon roosts,” decks cantilevered out from each floor, provide landing sites where cranes can deposit materials that will be used to finish each floor.
At the seventh-floor level, rebar and bubble deck have been installed on the east side and are ready for concrete to be poured Monday. It is possible that the Monday pour, which involves a pump truck on the Mills Street side of the project, will need to be postponed because the weather forecast calls for heavy rain on Monday. Nevertheless, the floor of level seven will be completed sometime this week.
Daniels Building. There is work at the top and the bottom of our existing building. In the sub-basement a doorway is now in place so workers can easily move between the Daniels sub-basement and the sub-basement of the new tower. On the Daniels roof curbing is being constructed around the edge of the roof in preparation for installation of new ventilation ductwork that will connect our existing building to new HVAC equipment at the top of the new tower.
Fire Sprinkler Project. This week work begins on the sixth floor, with a walk-through Monday morning to check that all labs and offices have been secured.
Loading Dock. There is no scheduled closing of the loading dock this week. There may be brief closures at unpredictable times.
This information is up to date as of Friday afternoon. Email bulletins will be provided as needed.
John Moore and Bob McMahon