aa unit 2 summer pavilion

Time to say goodbye

2006-07-08T16:25:00.000+01:00

It has been an amazing experience for us all, but now it's time to say goodbye. The pavilion is standing on its own, our sweat and some sake is left on the flanges and beams. One last Thank You to everybody involved - the unit mates, the tutors, the admin. people and Brett and the sponsors. We shall return after the Summer break, for more ambitious projects, hopefully with the same enthusiasm and determination.

Closer and closer

2006-06-25T14:14:00.000+01:00

The fence is up. The components have arrived and the invitations have been printed. 9.00am Monday, Bedford Sq. Let the final assembly of the pavilion begin!

Getting ready for the last push

2006-06-23T23:30:00.000+01:00

So what happened to us in the past week? Everything and nothing.
We all passed our final presentations with great success, and with our third-year students passing on a high pass mark. We came back to our old habits and old routines and are settling back in London.

We took a few days off from the pavilion in order to gather our strength before starting building it on site, at Bedford Sq. Tomorrow the fencing arrives and the following day the trucks from Hooke with all the components and it seems like our next few days are going to start at 8.00am on site with our steel-toe boots and hard hats.

Waltzing to the finishing line

2006-06-15T01:01:00.000+01:00

After the past 10 days of hard hard work and lots of visitors - Lip and Francis from AGU, a sweet rep from Maeda, straight from Japan, Press from BD and Bridport and some AA admin people, we have reached the finishing line, two days ahead schedule.

The first part of the group left Hooke today, while the rest are staying to relax, and prepare for the end of the year presentation. But all in all, it is now safe to say - pre-fabrication is over and done with!

Finishing with a bang

2006-06-04T19:03:00.000+01:00

We finished the week with a bang. First, the trial fitting went better than expected. The first 1/8 of the pavilion fits just right. The ornaments piece is also done and looks gorgeous. Finally, it is so rewarding to see all the components fitting together, and now we are safely cruising towards the last stages of the work at Hooke - putting together the "bouquets" of ornaments, painting the metal plates, and then varnishing the pieces.

And the icing on the cake - Naiara's birthday party at Chesil beach. BBQing, taking a dip in the icy water, shooting foam rockets, best pebble competition, more food, a walk on the gorgeous strip towards the swan lake, more steaks and sausages and flamed marshmellows. It felt like it was everybody's birthday.

It Fits!

2006-06-02T19:44:00.000+01:00

We are oh-so close to completing cutting all the pieces, what's left are 250 more pieces of Flange 8 and then we are done with the cutting.

And the first trial fitting was extremely successful. We have beam 01/02 with the metal plates in, all with the huge bolts and screws and we even purchased some paint to stain the metal plates and protect them from bleeding rust on the timber.

First ornamentation bouquet is also done so the end of the week seems much more promising then its beginning.

Now what's left is to plan the trip to the beach and Naiara's 20th birthday party and we are all happy campers.

Extended Family

2006-06-01T07:45:00.000+01:00

Charles and his two boys are here for reinforcement. And the work is progressing pretty well. Amandine and Tessa drove today to Yoevile to get some multi-purpose saw that may save the day. Though what we really need is a little more time to actually finish this project. Although we have done a lot, some big steps are still ahead of us - the trial fitting that is scheduled to start on Friday, the assembly of the ornamentation and to follow - the shipping of the big pieces and the real assembly in London and on and on and on.

At the same time, we are over the mid-point of construction at Hooke, and it is quite amazing to see ourselves surrounded by the pavilion, albeit in pieces. And we definitely settled in here in the woods. Routine walks are organized in the evenings, the DVD collection had quadrupled and the thought of being here right until the End Tables doesn't seem to scare anybody. Working on our portfolios? What portfolios?!?!?!?

Contingency week

2006-05-30T19:04:00.000+01:00

Back at Hooke park after a weekend at home, Jesse, and Amandine came back on Monday night and Naiara, Eli, William, Simon and Dana followed on Tuesday morning.

And everything is the same - we are cutting and slotting and smoothing and cnc-ing and it all goes fairly well. Apart from the beams that don't really match the flanges and the big flanges that need to be cut by hand and are a pain. We are starting to understand the idea behind 'contingency week'.

One big family

2006-05-21T16:42:00.000+01:00

With Jesse, Tessa and Hiro arriving on Thursday, and Charles, Martin, Simon and Evonne on Friday night, we have completed all the tasks we have set up for ourselves.

Charles marked up and cut the humongous flange 0; Martin set up a new script for the cnc machine, and we all worked on the jigs, the cuts, and the shifting of these heavy sheets of timber. The idea is to finish cutting all the pieces , including the legs and the bases and to pre drill for the metal plates.

But first, Sunday is here, and while Charles, Martin, Simon and Dana are leaving for London, the only thing left to do is to sleep in, take a walk in the woods (if it ever stops raining) and maybe work on our portfolio for the upcoming Tables.

And Eli? He went back to London on Saturday. Please come back, Eli…

Eli and the girls

2006-05-18T08:50:00.000+01:00

It was a very productive day today, despite the fact that we are all feeling soar from all the lifting and the cutting and the rearranging. We first corrected some minor mistakes we did yesterday (Eli doing an extremely rigorous quality-control by re-measuring all the sizes), and re-cut some beams. We almost finished cutting all the pieces for the ornamentation and the big flanges (Eli documenting the entire time) and we even set up the Big Board in the back of the workshop.
The cnc machine is still not working, although the charmed technician had sent in a script he wrote for us over night.

It has been raining non-stop for the past 8 hours, so we decided to stay in and order Chinese (Eli's choice). There seems to have been a mix-up with the order, no need to say who’s the poor guy who didn't get his main dish....

Damn Heavy

2006-05-16T20:11:00.000+01:00

We basically moved 8 tons of timber today, and some more, since the plywood also arrived, which had to be unloaded and moved into the workshop.

We also started cutting the beams (not all of them totally accurate) and the flanges (some were lost to the crazy cnc machine that decided to cut the wood to its own liking) but we are confident in our delusional minds that we are actually ahead of schedule.

Although the cnc machine didn't do it's work today, the charming cnc operator who came in to give Charlie and the gang a crush-course in cnc cutting, offered to work on a script for us that will link our Autocad drawings to the cnc beast. No wonder he's working on it tonight, after Amandine charmed him with her lovely peach/tan blouse...

In the woods

2006-05-15T23:55:00.000+01:00

The five of us arrived at Hooke Park today at dusk, to an exploding Spring season. Naiara, Will, Eli, Amandine and Dana, we all squeezed into one taxi from the train station to the workshop, with our bags, drawings, a mock-up of the ornamentation and even some chocolate, wine and cookies.

The timber from FinnForest is already waiting for us to be cut, and after going in details over the drawings set and the schedule Jesse emailed from London, we have devised a work plan for tomorrow and the next few days. The ambitious goal is to cut all the timber until everybody joins us at the end of the week. Now though, the only thing left to do is to go to sleep - we all agreed on a 7.00am breakfast meeting.

Contractions

2006-05-14T00:37:00.000+01:00

A major push to finish the drawings and the material orders, we are all working throughout the weekend. Today it seemed like the drawing sets are under control. The ornamentation drawings are also nearing completion and yet another mock-up had been assembled.

And the exciting news of the day - WE ARE GETTING THE FINISH JUMPSUITS! The outfits, complete with the new T-shirts we got from Arup, the yellow boots, and possibly hard hats for the site, will turn us into a group of clones, and no doubt, the envy (or joke) of the whole school.

Pizza and Technical Drawings

2006-05-12T22:54:00.000+01:00

At Arup's last night at 8pm, with pizza and the technical drawings, Charles and Martin went through the different stages of the construction of the pavilion, and yet again, emphasized the importance of the accuracy of the drawings. Some compromises in the design have to be made to comply with health and safety issues. Since the work was not fully completed, new deadlines have been set and the departure to Hooke Park is delayed.

Charlie will receive the first shipment of timber on Monday morning and only a small group will travel to Hooke Park in the afternoon. Amandine, Naiara, Dana, Eli and Will will be the first to set up shop at Hooke Park, and prepare the plates and the CNC machine.

The rest will follow, with probably Tessa and Evonne the last ones to arrive on Friday. Charles and Martin will join us on Saturday and make sure we are still in peace and not in pieces.

Back on track

2006-05-11T05:13:00.000+01:00

Charles‘ idea of sub-diving the unit into work groups proved successful. Jesse and Amandine are working closely with Simon and Will, and the Details Team implements changes and redraws according to Charles' corrections. We took over the computer lab, although that wasn’t really a problem. It seems that the entire student body had vanished from school so we are mostly on our own with the occasional tutor strolling in.

And the mantra for today – Not getting it done is NOT AN OPTION!!!

A minor setback

2006-05-08T23:10:00.000+01:00

Despite the big push to finish the general arrangement and detail drawings, we received a bit of a cold shower today and were sent back to the drafting tables. Hmm, to Rhino and AutoCad, that is. Charles, after a serious meeting with everybody and then a private conversation with Simon, made an executive decision and instructed Simon And Will to take care of the general arrangement drawings. Eli, Nai, Jessie and Amandine will continue with the detail drawings. Tessa and Dana will be working on the fund raising brochure and Hiro and Evonne are taking care of scheduling and orders. Whatever is left from the trip to Finland is now starting to pile up in the photo album and in order to be able to meet the deadline, the only thing left to do is to put those sweet memories aside and concentrate on the construction drawings challenge.

15 seconds of fame

2006-05-06T15:50:00.000+01:00

Wow, now we are famous! The article in BD has come out and the title on the cover page: Serpentine Gallery - Move Over. But with fame comes responsibility. Now we actually have to build the damn thing. A new deadline has been set for Monday, which brings us to a week away from going to Hooke park. All the technical drawings have to be completed and orders of the bolts and cables have to start rolling. We may need to purchase some dark glasses as well, in case the paparazzi starts following us.

Viva Vappu

2006-05-03T07:50:00.000+01:00

Day 01

Traveling to Finland, long gone are the days of youth hostels and public transport. We are picked up by a FinnForest rep. and a comfy bus and are acclimating quickly in our individual rooms at the Radisson Espo, over looking the lake. A quick intro at FinnForest’s HQ, we are ready to be swept off our feet by timber constructions and products. And off to Helsinki, for drinks and dinner. Reindeer on our plates, trying not to think too much about poor Rudolf.

Day 02
Early pick up and a beautiful ride to FinnForest's factory. The sun is low (it almost always feels like mid-afternoon, no matter what time it is) and the forest stretches as far as the eye can see. Although no photography was permitted, it was an unforgettable visit. Watching a log being stripped, dried, glued, cut and packed affected all senses. The smell was seductive. The touch was soothing. And off to the forest, were trees are being cut, and replanted. Eli and Tessa in the monster machine and everybody collecting pieces of fresh cut wood. Dinner at the restaurant on the 10th floor, watching the sun starting to go down at 10pm.

Day 03
A sunny, yet cold morning, we are taking an architecture tour through Helsinki’s new and newer buildings. From Aalto’s gorgeous auditorium and library at the Tech. University followed by new housing schemes, and finally, to Steven Holl’s Museum of Contemporary Art. After changing rooms, and meeting loved ones, we continued to a sauna treat with Sami and yet another fantastic dinner at Gastone, one of Helsinki’s best.

Day 04

Vappu – a trip to the fort and despite the fact that it was a “no tourist day”, a visit to Aalto’s Finlandia and the Olympic stadium. Then, with 100,00 of our new best friends, watching the white hat being put on the big statue at the Esplanade and swimming in a sea of alcohol.

Day 05
Before catching the flights back home, a quick stroll to the park, a must with the locals, and a last walk through town, enjoying the sun, the nice people and the last few hours of relaxation before coming back to the load of work and the pending deadlines. After all, we have a pavilion to build!

To Finland

2006-04-26T20:50:00.000+01:00

Portfolios had been shown, adjustments had been done. Mock-ups have been cut and models have been built. Even taxis had been ordered - we are leaving for Finland tomorrow morning at 5am (not a second later!!!) for a workshop hosted by FinnForest. The fact that it is the Finn's first weekend of Spring celebration (as promised, not a single adult will be sober throughout the weekend) adds to our excitement and anxiety. Depends who you're asking...

A new pavilion, a new blog

2006-04-25T06:56:00.000+01:00

First day of term 3, it is never too late to start a blog about our shared experience at the Architectural Association. We are 10 students of intermediate school, Unit 2. As opposed to other architecture students around the world, in the next 12 weeks we will not be building architectural models, but rather a 1:1 scale pavilion. First at Hooke Park, at a workshop the school owns in Dorset, South-West England. Then, the final assembly will be on site at Bedford Square, London, right outside the school. We have been working hard this year under the rigorous yet supportive guidance of Charles Walker and Martin Self from Arup's AGU. And it is Simon Whittle's scheme that was chosen after an excruciating selection process. Now that we are all taking part in its modification, planning and building we are looking forward to having our end of the year party under the roof of this unique structure. So if you are in the neighborhood around July, join us for a glass of wine.