Up! Up! And away…

March 9th at 9pm I will fly out and the mission will begin. As a case study for finishing my diploma at FAUP (Porto Architectural School), I've decided to volunteer and join A4A (Architects for Aid) in one of their humanitarian architecture projects. The projected on which I've been assigned is the construction of the LCCU (Lesotho Children Counseling Unit) centre in Lesotho. The building has been halted and an assessment, survey and new proposal and program will be drawn up in order that the building might finish to be built. Once this is completed a second trip will be organized and I'll be overseeing the building on site. The objective of this blog is to keep record of the work that is being done, both for the benefit of the members of A4A in London, FAUP to whom I'll also be reporting, my own record as well as friends and family that might want to know what I'm up to. Please comment on any post that you have an opinion, as this will undoubtedly help me in the completion of my thesis. Disclaimer: The information displayed on this site has not been previously edited or checked by any A4A staff and I'm the sole responsible for it's contents. A4A or any of the other involved organizations are not to be hold responsible on any account for what is published on this blog.

Wednesday 18 July 2007

Wall-plate…

To wall-plate or not to wall-plate that is the question?

The roof has been causing me (daily) headaches since I first saw it. In one of my last posts I spoke about the need for purlins and braces, I also mentioned that the wall-plate had been omitted…

I had not been too worried about this as we had a ring-beam, but it has since been flagged to me that the metal straps (and nails) might not handle the diagonal strength properly…

I must say that that is a scary idea but when the contractor and the “roof specialist” tell me that the wood will splinter if we nail through it, I now have a problem to resolve?? To help me with this I have asked a teacher from the school of architecture to come and see the site tomorrow… I will also consult with few more architects, which have worked in the country for long, and then try and make a decision…

But that was not the only issue that I tried to solve today regarding the roof, in the morning I drove off to Bloem and I picked up a sample/model of a fire proof system, I feel that it is one of our best options, now I just need to convince the contractor that it is so!

Apart from dealing with this today was also the day that we finally decided on a start day for the QEII playground. If we manage to order and receive all the materials tomorrow, on Friday we will lay the concrete, then a week from that we will paint and glue the floor tiles.

It will be good to see something finished for a change!
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