#fifthyears

In the Home Stretch

July 1, 2021

As the finish line for the Courtyard nears, the team has checked off many things on the to-do list, scroll down to see what they have been up to!

Capping the Wall

After many drill bits and muscle power, the team successfully attached the galvanized channel to the concrete wall! Thanks, Horseshoe Farm Fellow, Mary for your assistance! This channel not only makes the top of the wall look finished, it serves as a connection to the soon-to-be-installed gate. The gate will be anchored and grouted to the concrete foundation below ground, and then bolted to the channel at the top.

This channel, like many details in the project, has a reveal between the brick wall and itself

For a visually cleaner connection, the team decided to use countersunk concrete anchors that fastened the channel to the wall.

Wrapping the porch

Meanwhile, the gypsum board went up on the south porch and was shortly treated to a fresh coat of paint.

It’s Been Said That “Slate is Great”

Student spreading slate behind screen — Riley spreading “trail mix” by tall screens

Students spreading and tamping the slate — Riley spreading “trail mix” by tall screens

image of ground surfaces — Shot of all the different ground materials, shortly after slate was spread

The ground surfaces on the south end of the site were finished one early morning in June. Thanks to the help of the whole studio and some Horseshoe Farm Fellows, both the “trail mix,” meaning the bottom layer of the slate; and the “mini-chips,” the top layer were spread and tamped down by 9:00 a.m.!

Electrical in the ground and on walls and screens

Before the final layer of slate could go down, some electrical work needed to be finished. The team roughed in all conduit work in the ground and poured concrete columns along the west wall. These concrete columns held junction boxes in place for lights and kept the cover above ground to avoid water issues down the road. The ground work also included running conduit to two of the benches for electrical outlets, as well as attaching junction boxes to the screens for the lights that will light the active space.

image of outlet beneath bench — The outlets were lifted off the ground enough to remain above the finished grade

image of outlet — The outlets were lifted off the ground enough to remain above the finished grade

From the junction boxes seen in the image above, EMT conduit ran parallel to the screens, and onto channels that cantilever from the screens and hold lights in place. While the team laid all the conduit work in place, they worked with a licensed electrician for the wiring of the lights and outlets.

Team on scaffolding attaching metal to screens — The team also fastened the lights and EMT conduit to the masonry wall, following the five-foot grid.

Team on scaffolding installing electrical — The team also fastened the lights and EMT conduit to the masonry wall, following the five-foot grid.

Finishing the Benches

Once the metal legs for the benches were grouted, the sanded, routed, and sealed eight-inch square heavy timber pieces were secured to the legs.

pouring grout into form — Team installing benchtop

image of bench legs with slate — Team installing benchtop

Tags: #alabama, #architectureschool, #auburnarchitecture, #courtyard, #designbuild, #fifthyears, #metal, #projectHSF, #rsleftovers

The Wall is Up, and the Bricks are Down

April 18, 2021

The Horseshoe Courtyard project team is putting the final touches on the amazing outdoor space! Recently, they’ve poured the concrete entry wall, completed the brick pad, and began prepping the timber benches.

Students cutting melamine board — Smoothing out silicone on seams

Students attaching first wall of formwork — Smoothing out silicone on seams

Bucket brigade, students pouring concrete wall — The pour was made possible by a bucket brigade!

View of concrete wall — The pour was made possible by a bucket brigade!

A couple of weeks ago, the tallest pour the courtyard team has ever done took place! In preparation for the pour, they carefully assembled all the formwork and secured all the bracing. This bracing prevents the formwork from bulging once the concrete is placed into the formwork. An thus, a 9′ x 5′ 10″ wall came to fruition! The team used the same techniques tested with the mock-up for the wall. The only differences from the trial run being the rebar reinforcement and the chamfered edges. The 5th-years, as well as Andrew and Steve, helped by filling ad passing buckets of concrete to the top of the wall formwork. Thanks bucket brigade!

Sitting Surfaces

Stack of the cut timber, each bench will utilize two eight by eight cypress sections for the sitting surface

You may remember from the previous post, talk of benches and installations of the legs. Well, here we’ve got the sitting surfaces. The team is using heavy timbers leftover from the Newbern Town Hall project as the bench surface. In the images above, Caleb and Claudia are cutting the wood to 6 ft length which will be sanded, routed, and sealed. Next, they will attach the timber to the quarter-inch plates that make up the structure of the legs. During this time, they also excavated and poured the footing for the last bench!

The Completed Puzzle!

Folks, it is time to cut a rug on the best dance floor in Greensboro! After many, many days working on the brick pad, all bricks have been cleaned, placed, leveled, and sanded!

After placing all the bricks, the team removed the temporary wooden edging. Next, they installed the quarter-inch, galvanized steel edging. Some of the off-the-shelf pieces needed length modification so the team cut and welded them on-site.

After securing a corner at the right level, the team installed the first 16′ piece of metal edging. They adjusted the following legths to alighn with the first piece. The metal was clamped together and staked in placemet at the corners. Scrap wood was used to keep the edging flush against the bricks until backfilled. After all the edging was in place the bricks along the edge were readjusted.

Image of sand being spread over bricks — Once everything was in place, more sand was spread between all the bricks

Construction at the courtyard is coming to a close so make sure to stay updated as it nears completion!

Tags: #alabama, #architectureschool, #auburnarchitecture, #auburnuniverisity, #bricksfordays, #concrete, #courtyard, #designbuild, #details, #fifthyears, #greensboro, #metal, #projectHSF, #rsleftovers, #ruralstudio, #welding

The Biggest Puzzle in Hale County

December 18, 2020

Exciting times at the Horseshoe Courtyard, after cleaning nearly 4,000 bricks, the brick pad is finally coming to life! The team and their helpers began laying bricks to create an intricate, hard surface in the main courtyard space.

Students tamping sand — George and Paul leveling and tamping sand

Students working on brick pad — George and Paul leveling and tamping sand

First, the team made a wooden frame of 2″x 6″ lumber staked into the ground which created a perimeter. This perimeter frame acted as a tray for the sand, which built up underneath the bricks. The sand is tamped and leveled, creating an even surface on which to lay the bricks. Also, the frame acts as a guide, keeping the entire pad square.

A Puzzling Pattern

After filling small sections of the frame with leveled, tamped sand the bricklaying begins. The team chose a basket weave pattern for the brick pad. However, it was not until all the bricks were cleaned and sorted that the team understood the variety of shades and sizes of the material. How these different bricks filled the pattern added another layer of complexity. The basketweave pattern is made-up of “squares” which contain eight specific bricks of different colors, sizes, and textures.

So, within the designed pattern, the most important rules were aligning the outer edges of the “squares”, keeping gaps between bricks small, and leveling the bricks to the height of the neighboring concrete. Seen above is the final pattern which contains red, brown, burgundy, orange, and grooved bricks. Some are large, some are small, but together they create a dynamic pattern.

Students leveling sand — Chelsea and Caleb leveling the sand

Students laying brick — Chelsea and Caleb leveling the sand

As the brick pad kept growing, Dr.Dorsey would stop by and test out the future dance floor. However, when he didn’t dance away quick enough, the Horseshoe Courtyard team put him to work spreading out sand between the finished bricks!

Image of brick pad from walkway — View from the walkway a few days before Christmas!

Once the brick pad is complete, metal edging will keep the bricks in place. As mentioned earlier, the brick pad surface will be level to the concrete for seamless access to the main courtyard space. The brick pad is crucial to the flexibility of the courtyard design, giving a hard surface for outdoor activies such as Dr. Dorsey’s dancing.

More Frames

Time for a throwback! Recently, the team picked up the last of their fabricated metal pieces. This included the railing, grinder pump cover, and bench legs. They took all these pieces to be galvanized, after some on-site welding on the grinder pump cover. Keep checking in to see the Horseshoe Courtyard Project continue to transform.