#bricksfordays

Tamping Down and Lighting Up

October 12, 2020

View of trees and slate from walkway — Slate gravel is the finished surface under the tree canopy and around the brick pad on the South end of the site.

Student driving bobcat with slate Super Sack

This week, the team unloaded 22 super-sacks of slate, from Rockmart Georgia! Half of these sacks consisted of “Trail Mix” which makes up the first two-inch layer of material. And the “Mini chips” that will be the top two inches are the finish grade. While both generally look the same, the Trail Mix has fines, which function as mulch, while the Mini chips are less powdery, compact better, and decreases the chances of weeds going through the surface. The team, and helpers, set to spreading and hand tamping the first layer of slate around the recently planted trees. While students spread the slate, they placed markers between the trees to ensure that the site continued to slope towards the north end of the site.

Lighting talks and studies

Andrew introducing lighting expert — Thomas Paterson from Lux Populi, lecturing about lighting on the steps of Morrisette House.

Light being tested in courtyard — Caleb and Claudia testing different angles and light bulbs in the stage/ porch area.

Students observing lighting mockup — Caleb and Claudia testing different angles and light bulbs in the stage/ porch area.

One of the important aspects of the courtyard is its flexibility in usage; both throughout the seasons, as well as at different times of the day. Keeping that in mind elevates the importance of lights in the courtyard. Luckily, the Studio had a visit from Thomas Paterson, a lighting consultant from Mexico City’s LuxPopuli! Thomas showed a couple of projects he and his office has worked on, how they approach lighting design, and some strategies the team could test out in the courtyard. After the lecture, everyone headed to the courtyard site to see those strategies applied to the existing lighting mock-up.

Trench for north screens

Students loading brick on back of the truck

As the team moved further north on the site, they had to consider the implications of having a trench separating the spaces. Consequently, before the team planted the trees, they moved the sand for the brick pad by the tall screens. And before the Bobcat could no longer be driven in, bricks and slate were relocated beneath the trees. Shortly after that, Tyler returned to the site one last time, with his Mini-excavator. In one morning’s time Tyler and Ashton, his assistant, dug up the trench and hauled off the excavated dirt from the site. Simultaneously, students salvaged close to a hundred bricks, from the pile of dirt coming out the trench. Many were previously part of foundation walls for the buildings that used to be on the site.

Students setting reinforcement for concrete footing

After Tyler left, students quickly prepared the reinforcement of the concrete. While tying the rebar, the team made sure that it matched with the placement of the metal footings for the screens. They did so, like always, by pulling batter board lines across space.

Students form assembly line to move bricks — Once the trench was in place, the only way to move cleaned brick in was by forming an assembling line across the space.

Tags: #3rd-years, #5th-years, #alabama, #architectureschool, #auburnarchitecture, #auburnuniverisity, #bricksfordays, #courtyard, #designbuild, #greensboro, #projectHSF, #rsleftovers, #ruralstudio, #slate

Six Trees in the Ground, Seven More To Go

September 28, 2020

Dr.Dprsey and PHF fellows cleanign bricks

Horseshoe Farm Fellows Brick Cleaning Day!

Fellows cleaning bricks — Horseshoe Farm Fellows Brick Cleaning Day!

On a Saturday morning, the Greensboro Fellows, Dr. Dorsey, and several community members came to the courtyard site to help clean bricks! Together they cleaned about three-quarters of a pallet (roughly 350) worth of bricks. Thank you, Fellows and Dr. Dorsey, it was a great help!

Concrete Pour

The team finished the formwork, secured the rebar mesh, and taped over the formwork spacers and screws. The slab under the walkway is divided into rectangular pavers, which follow the grid system of the rest of the courtyard, and allow two-inch gaps that correspond with screen and grate placement. This week with the help of contractor, Clyde Fields, the team poured concrete!

Cured concrete before formwork was removed

While waiting for the new trees to be delivered, we began removing the formwork! To make prying the forms out easier, longer pieces of formwork were created at the edges of each rectangular slab piece, with spacers every foot or so.

View of grid from walkway — The trees are organized around a five-foot grid, like the screens and concrete. The students pulled batter board lines to help guide planting, with the intersection of the strings in the center of the tree trunks.

Crepe Myrtles Arrived!

Thirteen beautiful, single trunk, Natchez Crepe Myrtles arrived on site on a cloudy Thursday morning. The team unloaded all of the trees with the help of 3rd-year students, Mason, and the Bobcat. The trees have grown taller since being tagged at a nursery in northern Alabama! The caliper, or width of the tree trunk, ranges between three and four inches wide. The bottom of the tree canopy is at least six to seven feet tall, allowing people to comfortably wander beneath the canopy.

That Friday morning we, along with 3rd-years and Mason, excavated holes for the first two trees. Considering the size of the site, the trees needed to be planted two at a time before the following holes could be augured. David Hill, AU professor of landscape architecture, arrived to advise and help plant the Crepe Myrtles. The 3rd and 5th-years helped us plant the first six trees! A huge shout out to David for coming from Auburn to assist planting the first half of the new courtyard trees.

Tags: #alabama, #architectureschool, #auburnarchitecture, #auburnuniverisity, #bricksfordays, #concrete, #courtyard, #designbuild, #greensboro, #grid, #planting, #projectHSF, #rsleftovers, #ruralstudio, #trees

More Bricks, Dirt, and Concrete Prep!

September 14, 2020

Bricks on palettes — Original stack of bricks

Students sorting through bricks — Original stack of bricks

The team and assisting students took a trip to Fuller’s Building Supply, in Selma, AL, to re-stack 3,000 bricks! Said bricks had been purchased by the courtyard team a little over a year ago. Due to the pallets sitting outdoors for so long, they started to deteriorate and eventually rotted away. For one day, a crew of five sorted through the broken and whole bricks, and re-stacked them according to brick color on new pallets. Once the bricks were delivered to the site, the cleaning process began! Similarly to the previously found bricks, these have been scrapped of remaining mortar.

Curb formwork removal

Before the site was graded, the students removed the formwork of the concrete curb from the previous week’s pour. They also created a temporary boundary box to retain gravel or dirt from covering the curb and the grinder pump lid.

Grading the site

Image of recently re-graded site from walkway — Before

Batter boards used to indicate edge of gravel underlay

Image of whole site after grading work finished

In order to proceed with construction, the ground needed to be re-leveled. Certain areas of the site needed to come up four or so inches and others needed dirt removed. Tyler, who had previously helped the team with excavation work, returned with his mini-excavator and got the job done in one day. Caleb, Claudia, and 3rd-year students assisted with hand tamping and moving dirt by hand in areas the larger equipment could not reach. About fifty tons or two tandem trucks worth of dirt was utilized to grade the site. And about twenty-five tons of gravel was brought in as an underlay for the brick pad.

Student hand tamping — Dirt hand tamped in preparation for formwork

Image of under walkway — Dirt hand tamped in preparation for formwork

Cleaning up the alley

Simultaneously to the site being graded, time was spent on tidying up the building on Beacon Alley. The wooden doors and window trims were painted black to diminish the attention they drew; the black window trim makes the whole window disappear into the shadows rather than sticking out being a bright white.

Prepping for concrete

As formwork under the walkway started, it was necessary to remove a layer of bricks on the door threshold. To ensure that the level of the concrete and interior finished floor have a smooth transition and avoid water coming into the building. Shortly after that, people working on site were split into two groups. One group was to work on the formwork for the porch/stage area and the other to start staking down the formwork along the south and east façade.

Students starting formwork under walkway — Checking level of formwork

Checking the level of formwork — Checking level of formwork

Students tieing rebar mesh to chairs — Students tying the rebar mesh to rebar chairs to lift off the ground

Tags: #architectureschool, #auburnarchitecture, #auburnuniverisity, #bricksfordays, #courtyard, #designbuild, #greensboro, #projectHSF, #rsleftovers, #ruralstudio