Day 21: Construction and Beaches

Solid arm pump complete, we set out for two job site visits. The first: a composite building intended for retail and commercial office space, that was constructed entirely of timber. The first floor of the 9-story structure was concrete due to the foundation grid having previously been laid out in a 12x12 meter grid, but the max grid size achievable with timber was 12x9 meters. Above this concrete floor, this structure is considered the tallest timber commercial building in the world. Other taller timber structures are composite, meaning that they use concrete elevator shafts to strengthen the core of the building, or steel beams/floor decks to accompany the timber. This job site visit was possibly my favorite yet, because it proved to me that innovation is still possible and in fact alive and well; and that sustainability in construction can make sense economically (which is rare and quite a sigh of relief to see). They saved 30% on their programme, and only needed 8 workers and two crane operators with no previous experience in timber to erect the structure, and in less time than a typical crew for a comparable concrete structure or steel structure. The structure had a 90 minute fire rating, which is atypical (US and Australia require 2 hour) but permitted with a special application and strategic plan to ensure occupant safety. The company, Lendlease, is a massive world-wide contractor that was constructing this property as part of an A$8 billion community development called Barangaroo in downtown Sydney. They seem to be a contractor I'd be willing to work for in the future, if and when I decide to make the jump Down Under. As small as the world seems to be at times, just how small is always mind-boggling. As we exited the job site we got a faint War Eagle, who proceeded to inform us that he graduated from Building Science in 2002 and currently works in Atlanta... Just, wow.

Our next visit was to the University of Technology Sydney, where we viewed the demolition of a 13 story structure built in the 70's for the erection of a larger building. Walking the interior with sparks flying reminded us of a Mad Max scene, or a large mining operation deep underground like in Indiana Jones. The team had decided to demolish the lower center of the building, so construction of the elevator shafts and building core could begin while demolition above continued. This is apparently becoming a common practice in Sydney, and saves contractors 4-6 months on their programme if it goes as planned. 100% of the waste from this demolition was recycled, an impressive statistic by all means. Following this tour, we made it back to our place, I caught a 30 minute snoozer, then 7 out of our 12 person group hit the sidewalks, busses, and ferries to journey to Manly Beach, a mere hour of traveling away. Although we were tired and delirious, we played beach volleyball with an older gentleman named Vic, who was practicing by himself. Needless to say, we were terrible, and he was overly-disappointed in our performance. He coached our form and stance with every play, which was much needed, but our group had much more fun when he left due to an annoyance for amateurs. We grabbed a great dinner at a restaurant called Sunkissed, then visited Four Pines brewery/restaurant for a cold pint of heaven, and in the process barely missed the 10:20 ferry back. The next/last of the night was at 11, so we relaxed and enjoyed the company, knowing our 7:15 departure the next morning for a long hike and day of canyoning was going to hurt, and hurt quite a lot.