The Week of June 1, 2020 — Windows, Base Isolator Bushings and Sheer Pins, CT Scan Equipment Arrives, The Pandemic Continues and City Curfews are Mandated
The featured image is a sunset photo of the west wing of the Adult Hospital tower on the Dennis and Carol Troesh Medical Campus highlighted by a Jacaranda tree in bloom.
It is anticipated that the first week of June will begin some very important end-stage construction phases. This week this blog will focus on two key phases: 1) the installation of the windows on the Galleria Entrance, and 2) the installation of the bushings and sheer pins. These essential pins are the last non-option-element to complete the vertical isolation system, which is located on level “B.” The stage was set early on in the project when the embeds were set as the reinforcing rebar was installed before the concrete foundation was poured. The embeds would eventually anchor the base isolators to the foundation.
The Galleria — Window Installation Begins
To place the Galleria window install in context, the above image will serve two purposes: 1) illustrate where the rooms will be located within the Galleria, and 2) to demonstrate where the window panel install began (refer to the yellow hammer and wrench to the right of the number 16)Seeing the crane positioned at the northeast corner of the Galleria, I was quite certain that today (June 3, 2020) would be the day that Tower Glass would begin the Galleria window install. I had been told that the the install would begin on the back side or the south east side and work around to the east side. I was aware that the first couple of panels would take some time so that the crew could work out any unanticipated hitches.This image is of the first window installed on the south side of the Galleria. The south facing panels are known as spandrel glass, which conceals the structural elements of the building. As the panels return to the east side the glass panels will be a transparent glaze. The tower glass install crew attach a curtain wall installation vacuum lifter to a spandrel glass panel.A delicate lift and dance around the southeast corner of the Galleria before the panel is finally installed. After the window panel is set the crane operator swings the the curtain wall vacuum lifter back to the staging area where the cups will be attached to the clean side of the panel.At 7:30 AM, the first of the east panels was lowered into place.The third panel is lowered into its track.Machines, equipment. and a patchwork of color all work in tandem to install a window panel.Suction cups, a ladder and window panels: A view from inside the Galleria.A helicopter, Flags blowing in the breeze, and reflections in the window panels. At the end of the work day for the Tower Glass crew a helicopter was captured (two photos stacked together) as it took off from the north helipad. The flag on the crane’s boom appears to point at the helicopter as it flies to toward the west. A nice view of the reflective glass looking at the Galleria from the northeast corner of the structure.The front or the north side of the Galleria. The installers are preparing the fifth panel for installation.An expansive northeast view of the glass panels from the inside.
Vertical Shear Pins and Bushings — Installation
Open crates of Shear Pins and Bushings, which are the last components of the integral Base Isolator systems that are located on Level “B.” For an indepth look at the Vertical Shear Pins and Bushings click on the following link: https://docuvision2020.com/index.php/2020/06/03/revisiting-the-isolators/
A Birds Eye View of the Project
It had been a while since I had made a field trip up to the roof of the Adult Hospital and on my way up, I stopped on the 16th floor to check out the helipad. There in the shade of the helipad a rock dove was perched on the ledge in the shade taking in the view below. He seemed to be quite content with the spot and my presence as he would fly out over the site and return to the shadow of the helipad.
After graduate school Dennis accepted a position at Loma Linda University. He worked there for 42 years in the areas of administration and financial management, also teaching accounting and management to dietetic students at the School of Public Health. Through the years Dennis has chronicled the growth of the campus, including the construction of the Drayson Center and the Centennial Complex and the razing of Gentry Gym. He is the author of "The Mound City Chronicles: A Pictorial History of Loma Linda University, A Health Sciences Institution 1905 - 2005." dEp 09.30.2016 🔨
