Month: June 2018

The second layer of concrete was poured Friday afternoon, and it has now cured enough to walk on. Eventually, there will be "luxury vinyl tile" over the concrete, but not until the rest of the heavy work is done.

Next up is relocating some of the large white water pipes on the ceiling to make way for the new HVAC system. This means shutting down air conditioning for all of Robinson Hall until the pipes are reconnected. Sorry, everyone!

The first layer of the concrete subfloor of the makerspace is getting poured today. The black goo at the left edge of the photo is sand-impregnated epoxy that acts as a moisture barrier and gives the concrete something rough to adhere to. The white sheets are fiberglass mesh that will increase fracture toughness, i.e. it will allow the floor to flex more before it cracks.

The floor for the whole space will require around 32,000 lbs of fiberglass-impregnated cement, plus around 1600 gallons of water that will evaporate over the next few weeks. About half of this will get pumped in through the window today; the second half will get pumped in Friday.

Next week, framing begins!

Below, the concrete mixer and what should be ~800 bags of concrete.

Here are some photos of the stripped down shell of the first level of Robinson Hall, which will become the Nolop makerspace over the next 6 months.

The photo above shows the digital fabrication area, for laser cutters, 3D printers, and similar stuff. All the lead paint and asbestos has been removed. The red shape on the floor marks a thin section that will have to be jackhammered out and repoured before the rest of the floor.

The half-windows on the left side look out into the Kindlevan Cafe, above the art wall in the SEC atrium.

In the photo below, we’re looking back out the entrance, before the last pillar gets cut out.

If you could see through that translucent plastic sheeting, you’d see the long hallway on the bottom level of Anderson Hall, which abuts Robinson.

All the hot/cold water for the Robinson Hall heating and cooling system comes in through the white pipes shown below. Unfortunately, they need to be raised up to let that metal duct at the right of the photo get in for ventilation. The complexity of the HVAC system in this building is astounding.

When you notice the AC going off in a few weeks, that’s why.

Below, the main area of the makerspace. “No X” means “Do not smash this column into rubble and carry it out in a wheelbarrow.”

Also could be used as a marker for where the eyewash will be installed, it turns out.

Below, the main area of the makerspace again. After 4 days of grinding, the floor is flat enough to top with new concrete and vinyl tile.

Below is what will be the Byrne Advanced Machining Area. This is where the heavy duty stuff goes.

And finally, a reverse angle of the BAMA.

The Nolop is coming.