The Week of September 16, 2018 — More Columns to be Set on the Adult Hospital Tower

The east elevation as seen at twilight on the eve of week 122.

Week 122 will be another busy week at the construction site. Although the Children’s Hospital tower reached its apex at the ninth floor last week, the ironworkers began setting the large galvanized windscreen frames at the top of the steel skeleton. The ironworkers will continue, this week, setting the windscreen frames. More steel columns will be set on the east side of the Adult Hospital tower bringing all of the steel columns at a level for floors ten, eleven, and twelve. Once the girders, beams, and infills have been set on each of the floors, the corrugated metal decking will be set, and the process for the next floor will begin. Concrete will be poured on the level five west side decking. It is my understanding that the second aerial lift (aka man lift) will be installed sometime during the week.

What better way to begin week 122, then to take in the Loma Linda towers of healing. The tower on the left still in its steel skeleton stage, and the tower to the right slowly being overshadowed by the steel of a new and improved replacement hospital.

To the left is the Children’s Hospital Tower. To the right is the Adult Hospital tower, which has another eight stories to go before it reaches its apex. In the center is the Elevator tower, which connects the two hospitals.

On the east side of the Children’s Hospital tower, at the seventh floor, a welder stands on a floating platform as he welds a column. Incidentally, how many people do you see in this photo standing on floating platforms?

One of the first things I wanted to do upon arriving at the site was to take the aerial lift to the eighth floor. Because the floor has not been released by the steel company, I was unable to walk around. It appeared to me that the floor was still in a state of flux, as equipment and materials were still scattered about. No doubt the floor would be humming by morning.

A passerby stops a moment in the early morning sun to study the artist rendering the newly installed artist rendering. Although the gentleman is shielding his eyes from the sun it appears he is giving a left handed salute.

Yes Mable, Down on “A” Level There are Actual Rooms, doorways, and Corridors.

The northwest corner room on “A” level.

Long Corridor which runs east to west. On the other side of the wall on the right is the main electrical room.

Looking into the main electrical equipment room. On the other side of the wall boarded wall is the corridor depicted in the previous photo. The laborer standing on the lift is installing wallboard along the  long corridor, which runs to the south of the electrical room. The sizable opening in the upper center of the photo is to allow for the large equipment equipment to be brought into the room. Once the equipment is installed the double door frame will be installed. 

Looking toward the northeast corner:  Most of the metal studs of the main electrical room have now been covered with wall board. The electrical equipment will be mounted onto the elevated concrete pads. The double door frame for the south wall, which will be installed once the equipment has been placed, is tilted up on the far left column.

Another view of the main electrical room.

After the column has be coated with a fireproofing material, the massive columns are now being covered with wallboard.

The wallboard is also being hung on the metal studs around one of the elevator shafts.

Down on level “B” one can look up and see the exterior wallboard for level “A.” Since level “A” is below grade it will not have the same exterior curtain wall that the rest of the building will have.

A cinder block linen room, which is being constructed to meet the California fire retardant code.

A Walkabout and Look See on the Fifth Floor

This week, I had the opportunity to take the aerial lift up to the fifth floor and spend some time taking photos. Basically, the fifth floor is the top of the podium, or the base, from which both hospital towers, and the elevator tower rise. Looking down on the structure from the air the complex looks like a crooked capital “H.” Between the two hospital towers are two atriums: One to the west of the elevator tower, and the other to the east of the elevator tower.

This model will be used to orientate the various angles taken on and from the fifth floor.

After getting off of the aerial lift on the fifth floor, I stood under the corridor taking in the size of the steel structure. The Children’s Hospital tower (left) had reached its apex. The elevator tower (center) was getting the steel for the tenth floor. The east atrium is in the foreground.

From the northwest corner of the east atrium, the top floors of the Faculty Medical Office buildings can be seen through the Children’s Hospital along with the parking structure P4. Up on the eighth floor (upper center left) two welders can be seen. Most likely they are generating the smoke wafting up and over the elevator tower.

A closeup of the welder in the previous photo who went back to weldin’ away on the eighth floor corrugated metal decking.

The fifth floor tour begins under the northeast edge of the Children’s Hospital looking at the steel frame of the Adult Hospital tower. To the right is the large corridor connecting the two hospital towers. From the corridor one will have a spectacular view of the mountains and the east valley including Highland, Redlands, East Loma Linda, the VA, Bryn Mawr, the Hill on which the whole “To Make Man Whole” (spiritually as well as physically, and emotionally) began in 1905.

A view of the Children’s Hospital south tower from the fifth floor podium.

Making a quarter turn from my position in the previous photo, I was able to capture the Children’s Hospital in the foreground and running to the left (west). In the center is a southeast view of the east atrium. To the right of the atrium is a portion of the corridor. Beyond the atrium is the Adult Hospital tower. Upon careful inspection, the existing Medical Center is visible at the end (far left) of the frame.

West Atrium as viewed from the southwest corner. To the left is the Adult Hospital tower. Center right is the elevator tower.

A northwest view of the west atrium: The Adult Hospital tower is to the left with the elevator tower center, and the Children’s Hospital tower to the right.

In the foreground are several covered elevator shafts in the elevator tower. Beyond, in the background, are the interior stairs that switchback up the elevator tower.

As I made my way back to the lift, turned around and looked up at the east elevation of the elevator tower just in time to watch theses three pieces of steel being lowered by the north crane “Big Mac.”

The northeast tenth floor girder is being attached to the columns. The box beam, hanging, will be installed beside the girder. The BRB girder will be set on the east side.

The east side tenth floor BRB girder being swung into place.

Ten stories up, Kenny maneuvers the small end of the BRB girder. Earlier, I sat next to Jason and across from Kenny as they finished their lunch. I wondered what was going through their minds for they knew full well what was waiting for them after lunch.

Jason, looking as if he had not a care in the world, glances ten stories down toward my telephoto lens. If that had been me up on that girder, my knee would have been shaking so badly that it would have been a blur.

Later in the day, I took the east side aerial lift to the eighth floor to take a photo of Anderson Street. This was the same view Jason and Kenny had as they maneuvered the girder into place two floors above where this photo was taken.

While Jason (leaning over) tightens a bolt, Kenny prepares to walk the girder to release the cable. This was an awkward camera angle in that I was standing ten stories below and the subjects were backlit in the afternoon sun.

Soon after the BRB  girder was bolted to the columns the BRBs (Buckling-restrained Braces) were hoisted up for Kenny and Jason to anchor to the tenth floor columns.

Standing on the tenth floor girder, Jason steadies the cable as the first (lower) BRB is slid into place. In the upper right is a closeup of the action down below. The yellow arrow points to Kenny who is on the other side of the plate is trying to match the holes of the BRB to the plate. This is a very tedious procedure. The red arrow points to a chain wench, which Corey uses to assist in the alignment process. In Corey’s left hand is a phone that is plugged into the cranes cab. Corey is the on-deck crane operator, relaying instructions, via the phone, to the operator on the ground.

~ The End of Week 122 ~

By the end of the week several wind and equipment screens had been placed of the top of the Children’s Hospital tower.  As for the Adult Hospital tower (right), the corrugated metal decking had been scattered over the ninth and tenth floor.  Columns for eleven and twelve stand tall above the campus. In the center, nine stories of the elevator tower has been completed. Columns nine and eleven stand silent as twilight slides gently into the summers night.

Looking to the southwest from the hill toward the Adult Hospital tower and the existing Medical Center. Center right is Blue Mountain, and center left are the Loma Linda Hills.

The Children’s Hospital Tower as seen from the roof of the Faculty Medical Office Building.