Friday, March 18, 2016

Before the Pour

On Saturday the Howe Street pit will get a huge concrete pour. Between Pacific & Beach Avenue Howe will be closed to accommodate all the cement trucks.
I learned that the sand that the Granville Island cement company uses for its making comes from Sechelt. All the rebar, some of it very, very thick gauge comes from China! The windows & cladding will come from Korea. 

I am beginning to piece together where all the buildings will be. These sketches made by Westbank, the developer, really help me.


The western triangular site is the one that is under development right now. The building again looking south. The building 'point' points north.


    
The South Gate gets new electrical.

I love these insulator gizmos!

Other aspects....maybe this is/is not the last constructed bed for a homeless person in the zone on 1400 Granville Street.


Meanwhile in the pit these empty shapes below are made for a concrete foundation slab.When this amazing triangulating metal grid went in I had no idea that this was all to be filled with concrete.

The Howe Street side basement wall. The men on the wall, securing the metal.

A late-discovered gas tank from Beach Auto Gas Station on Pacific. Yet another random whatever-- so common in neglected locations.

Rodney Graham's Erasmus sculpture has a visitor.
Sadness is at my feet. I am super aware of the wealth-gap/housing-issues plaguing our city & getting way more acute.

The final preps for the pour on March 19th.





            

This machinery on Howe was for lifting the small digger!

Great example of concrete rectangle slab with walls/pillars beginning to grow out of it.

I believe concrete will not envelop the red crane on the south end.

Suddenly it's photo time!!!


Then back to work.


This has continued to be an amazing development for me. I have had an opportunity to look at construction up close & personal.

Tomorrow the Big Pour.
I'll be out there twice for that.
THAT'S it for now.