When the Crane comes Down....

12th October 2018

Bumped into the architect in the Cafe this morning (Script), 
On the Dirty Boulevard (thank you Lou Reed-RiP), 
On a bright spring morning.

She too was in a bright mood with the important news that the Crane is to be deconstructed in the coming days. 
This of course is big as it means all the heavy awkward stuff is in and finishing touches to the facade can begin. 

Lend Lease crane at B880

Spare a thought for the ubiquitous crane, look skyward to see their presence, and wonder how it is they are removed. Do they lower a section at a time with or without the boom? Is the task completed with the aid or another crane or can it do it all by itself. Where do cranes go to rest? 

Earlier in the week I was with a plumber looking deeply into holes in the ground and wondering out loud about their condition. You can see by the pic the drain has seen better times. In a pile in the corner of the Lend Lease Ladies WC were these imported pebbles. Japanese made pebbles to be glued into the facade. See the background to this blog and you will notice recesses for oblong tiles such as those in the pic. 

Made In Japan 

Facade Inserts

Crane in Spring

Lovely new pipework

   

5th October 2018

Men and women of the Lend Lease crew. 

When the block was vacant a lone figure turned up to start planning the location for site sheds. Peter Clarke was the first of the Lend Lease crew to arrive and I suspect will be the last to leave. A hard working positive ambassador of the Lend Lease construction whirlwind. His best man Jim, the younger of the two, elevates with the building setting form work for concrete all the way to 'top out'. 

Front and Centre

Peter manages the foot of the building as 175+ workers come and go with a myriad of tasks.  The level of activity is astonishing. A nest of Lend Lease professionals work at solving the many, many installation issues. They work in B876, the old Telecom ablution block along Sturt St which is soon to become home to the Faculty technical support community.

I have a met a few of the young LL construction crew who work in a networked, digital and organised hive. Adrienne McGinnison heads installation of all services, Nat Gray has his head around the construction plan, not an insignificant task and Shaan from Prime electrical is all over the building like Spider Man. These men and women of the LL construction team and their contractors are working long hours and long shifts to ensure the schedule is met. Under great pressure from external factors such as the encroaching works on Southbank boulevard.

The Dirty Boulevard

Our very own (UoM) Emily Dixon, an extraordinary Project Manager juggling a mind boggling number of spreadsheets which list tasks from the past, present and future.  It is hard to imagine in that in high summer, January 2019 the building will be occupied.