SGA Speir Building Addition

February 21, 2012

2012-02-24T06:49:00.000-05:00

Workers finishing up the glazing at the North Curtain Wall

Detail of Canopy and Landscape Wall as seen from a second floor office

Curtain walls at the connector are prepped for the smaller glass canopies

Here are some plumbing fixtures and Equipment shots

All x-ray rooms are equipped with hand-wash sinks

Boiler

Vacuum

Air Compressor

Interiors / Exteriors

2012-02-03T07:18:00.000-05:00

Here are some Interior progress photos taken this week.

Interior shot down X-Ray Lane

80 person classroom - Mid Morning

Materials Lab begins to take shape

Tile is now installed in the bathrooms

Here are some Exterior progress photos

Team members discussing the Project

Scaffolding is up as work on the Exteriors progresses

Detail of stair to chiller platform - No roof penetrations here

Detail of North Stair Tower

Early morning sky reflected off the Eastern Facade

East facade detail

Entrance Canopy Arrives

2012-01-27T05:59:00.000-05:00

Over a year since construction began, some of the finishing touches are beginning to take shape. Here are some pictures of the Main Entrance Canopy. The canopy was detailed, fabricated, and installed by Novum Structures Inc., out of Wisconsin, USA.

Worker adjusting upper bracket in final preparation prior to the erection of the canopy.

Although constructed entirely of straight pieces, the segmented design curves with the face of the building

Canopy Detail as seen from the Outside at the Ground Level.

Canopy Detail as seen from the Inside at the Second Level.

Workers fine tuning the slope of the assembly at an adjustable hanging rod.

January 7, 2012

2012-01-07T15:36:00.000-05:00

View of Lobby from Checkout.

Clerestory at locker room.
Solar shades will be attached to the exterior which will soften the light.

View of one of the protected Water Oaks from an office on the second floor.

Curtainwall framing at Connector.
Those pockets in the slab are for the columns which will support the entry canopy.

View of South side of connector.

Light and Reflection

2011-12-21T08:05:00.000-05:00

While touring the project yesterday, I was impressed with both the quality of the natural lighting within the building as well as the reflective quality of the exterior glazing.

Chief Mechanical Engineer Dan Reider inspecting the ceilings prior to finishes.

There are several places in the building where the interior walls abut the exterior glazing.
This is beneficial and intentional. The light washes the wall and is thrown into the space.

View from the adjunct faculty offices towards Palmetto Academy across Pampas Drive.
The darker colored glazing to the left is part of the exterior glazing pattern.

The vertical sections, or mullions, of this piece of curtainwall are butt glazed.
Notice the reflection of the existing building and the man on stilts finishing the interior walls.

The East glazing reflects the trees while the North glazing reflects the sky.

Workers cleaning the brick at the South end of the building.

Friday Morning was a quiet morning onsite

2011-12-03T07:32:00.000-05:00

Curved East wall without scaffold. The exposed brackets will support the glass canopy.

Mechanical equipment including chiller (top) and two air handlers - One air handler each per floor.

Mason tooling up a joint

One Year In

2011-12-02T06:44:00.001-05:00

It has been a full year now since the project started and in a short 4 months it will be substantially complete.

Scaffolding being removed along the curved Eastern wall

Roofers, glazers, and masons working at the South end of the building

The building is substantially covered with the roof now in place

We are at a point of the project now where we are beginning to see some of the final detailing. Here is a brick detail as seen from the second floor.

Head detail at monumental arch

Masonry Begins

2011-11-10T20:32:00.000-05:00

Photo: Julianne Rice

Masons working on the South side of the North Stair Tower

View of North Curtain Wall framing from the Mason's scaffolding

Looking North from the second floor offices

Head of wall masonry detail

Photo: Julianne Rice

Details - Mechanical Garden Screening

2011-10-18T06:30:00.000-04:00

An architectural screen wall provides a common area for the Rooftop Mechanical equipment

The Architectural Design team grouped the Rooftop Mechanical equipment into a single area and surrounded it with a sculptural galvanized steel screening. The open mesh panels behind the "X's" were requested by the local Community Appearance Board. The area is known on the project as the Mechanical Garden.

The chiller platform in the foreground is elevated 4' above
the roof deck to facilitate roof repairs and maintenance.

Screen Wall Detail

Much Progress Has Been Made

2011-10-10T06:55:00.000-04:00

Here are some recent pictures from the jobsite.

Building is topped and taking shape.

South Elevation. The curved wall at the scaffold will be brick.

Workman re-applies spray-on
air and vapor barrier to the building envelope.

Masons building the firewall at the Connector

Team discusses the removable portion of the Rooftop Mechanical Screen

Interior Metal Framing

2011-08-10T06:31:00.000-04:00

It has been a couple weeks since the last Post. Nonetheless work is progressing nicely. Below are a some snapshots of the Interior metal framing as well as a few exterior views.

Looking through some of the Faculty Offices on the second floor

Looking into the second floor corner office

Large 80 person classroom taking shape

Head of wall detail.

View of the first floor bathroom entry vestibule

Those two puddles are intentional - They are bathroom floor drain locations

View of the East wall parapet framing

Workers frame the south exterior wall

Exterior Sheathing going up along the East wall

July 24, 2011 - Exterior Metal Framing

2011-07-24T21:11:00.002-04:00

Last week work continued with the interior partition framing and most of the first floor was framed. Work also began on the exterior metal framing. These are the exterior walls of the building around the perimeter that keep the weather out.

You can see the new silver exterior framing at the base of the Eastern wall columns

Detail at base of column

The Construction Documents require that all ductwork be sealed while under construction.
This prevents dust and construction particulates from contaminating the ductwork.

Special types of slotted attachment anchors are required at the top of the metal framed walls.
Interior walls need to accommodate up to 1-1/2" of movement and the exterior walls need to accommodate up to 1".

Taking Shape

July 17, 2011 - Begin Metal Framing

2011-07-17T21:29:00.002-04:00

Last week Precision Walls installed the partition framing on the second floor while the plumbers, RC Jacobs, worked roughing-in the plumbing from the ground floor below.

Looking East from the North Stair, second floor.
Faculty offices straight ahead and to the left.

Shared Ground Floor plumbing stack. Mens room to the right and Womens room to the left.

Looking South, second floor corridor. Classrooms are to the left and to the right.

These sleeves fit within the cavity wall for plumbing in this location.

These sleeves will be relocated into the cavity wall to the right.

Electrical conduits for a wall panel on left and Roof drain sleeve on the right.

Contractor is using the largest classroom on second floor for material staging.

Floor slab and curb poured at Mechanical penthouse. Penthouse roof framing and sheathing is also in place.

Until the next Post... Lookin' Good!

July 7, 2011 - Isolation Pockets and Full Penetration Welding

2011-07-16T07:43:00.000-04:00

With the majority of the two steel packages in place and the second floor slab poured, workers are now tending to smaller miscellaneous items.

Now that the second floor slab is placed and the steel columns are true,
the isolation pockets at the base of the East wall columns are being filled with concrete,

Looking south down central corridor in the clinic, sterilization is to the right.
These isolation pockets at the base of the short columns are round and still need to be filled with concrete.

Welder works on full penetration welds as Special Inspector stands by.
Each one of these special Full Penetration Welds takes about half a day.
There are at least 40 of these welds required on the project.

Detail of completed weld.

Special Inspector sign-off of completed weld.
Translation: "Inspected by MT, weld is OK, June 30th"

Welder works off special platform in a hard to reach spot.

Detail of platform.

Workers preparing to pour the slab in the mechanical penthouse.

July 5, 2011 - Second Floor Slab

2011-07-05T06:51:00.000-04:00

Last Tuesday, June 28th, 2011, the second floor slab was poured. This is a significant milestone in the project. Now that the second floor slab is in place, the pace of construction should pick up.

Concrete placement started at daybreak.

The concrete specifications call for a 5,000 psi mix. It took several truckloads to complete the pour.

The morning after the pour.

Looking out towards the Eastern curved wall.

Slab edge detail at curved wall.

Looking back at the connector and elevator shaft.

Connector slab and building slab edges.

June 24, 2011 - Second Floor Slab Prep

2011-06-27T22:11:00.001-04:00

Second Floor Steel Decking prior to Concrete

Looking South towards the Connector and Elevator Shaft

Penetrations in the slab are mapped out ahead of the pour

This is a floor drain in the utility room.
That tube connected to the drain is part of the trap primer.
Here is a typical trap primer schematic.

A View out from the top landing of the North Stair

June 17, 2011 - Scenes from the Second Floor

2011-06-18T09:23:00.000-04:00

View looking North along the East wall.

Spandrel Slab detail
Shear Studs welded to the structure below connect the slab to the steel framing.

Those two pieces of Red Iron are for anchoring posts which will frame the rooftop mechanical garden

Future second floor classroom.

Box out in slab for air-conditioning ductwork.

View looking down the corridor to the connector. Elevator is on the left.

Elevator machine connects through those three conduits.

June 11, 2011 - Begin Steel Decking and a Few more Views

2011-06-16T10:05:00.001-04:00

The second floor slab begins to take shape

Slab edge detail at the East Wall columns

View into the clinic from the Patient entry

Future clinic corridor with sterilization on the right

From this view, the addition appears to be hiding behind the tree.

June 6, 2011 - Sequence Two Steel In Place

2011-06-05T18:07:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures from key vantage points.

June 4, 2011 - Taking Shape

2011-06-04T10:56:00.000-04:00

South end of the building

Curve along the Eastern Facade begins to take shape

Sculptural portal at south end of Eastern Facade

View from the job trailer

June 3, 2011 - Views from the Roof

2011-06-04T10:54:00.000-04:00

The existing Speir Building roof provides another vantage point to view the progress.

Mechanical Penthouse. The door will be on the one side without the Cross Bracing

Looking down into the Student Locker and Break Room

The Student entry is in the small Courtyard between the buildings

Roof top Chiller platform. The 4 posts supporting the platform and the fasteners need to be galvanized (silver). This work will be redone.

May 28, 2011 - Steel - Begin Sequence Two

2011-05-30T18:05:00.001-04:00

Sequence One tops out with the small mechanical penthouse on the roof

Looking into the Dental Clinic from the Student Corridor

Looking through the Second Floor bathrooms to the Elevator and North Stair Tower

A stand alone concrete firewall separates the two buildings at the connector

May 15, 2011 - Shakin' Out the Steel - Sequence One

2011-05-30T17:36:00.020-04:00

Worker's topping out the masonry on the North Stair Tower

Conduits in slab foretell future Dental Clinic locations

The curved Eastern Facade prior to going vertical

Duggins Steel Erectors, from NC, shake out Sequence One

New Addition to the left and Existing Speir Building to the right