fredag 9 september 2011

BUILDING THE FOUNDATION...
and then the rest.

Nothing is so boring but yet so important as a buildings foundation. It is nothing you can admire or show for interested onlookers. It is and will forever be buried in the ground.
When planning for the so called Main Building, -that will house the Maternal and Child Health Care program, the Missions offices and a big multi purpose hall-, the most important question was the foundation. 
Manila is unfortunately situated on a Continental Plate “Fault Line”. We often wonder what will happen with all the tall buildings in downtown Manila if the stress on this fault line will be too great.
In our case, when constructing the Main Building of the project, we wanted to build in all precautions possible, safeguarding for earthquakes.


After the excavation the tedious work of setting the foundation began. Week after week the big holes for the pillars were dug and finally it was time to pour the cement. Under the watchful eye of our controller, Engr Ayo, the steel reinforcements were made in the right dimensions and the cement properly mixed to withstand the calculated stresses. – And finally it was time to pour the cement – truckload after truckload.



After this, things started to move fast and "suddenly" the ground floor was there

And the second floor as well

And finally the third

-but as you well understand, many small and big details had to be fixed along the way.
So if you want to see more - just follow my blog.

Thord Dahl