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.

Tuesday 7 August 2007

Up, up but nowhere…

I finally managed to get through to Ntate Linakane and he promised me that tomorrow I would have a truck. I do hope so!

On site today plastering continued slowly, and with a lot of hard work and setting up scaffolding on unfinished fills we managed to complete the ring beam on block B.

I also asked Ntate Sello if they could start clearing out a 2,5 metre perimeter around the internal courtyard so that we can start to prepare to also cast those slabs. It has still not been decided if their will be a small retaining wall on a strip foundation or if the the perimeter slab will sit on a rock fill with pad foundations for the poles (that will support the canopy) but I do wish that we go for the wall solution as it will mean less work.

Linakane does not seem to interested in the bonus that we have offered him if he decides an end date and completes within it, but tomorrow I will try once more and negotiate an end date.

Work on the Football pitch is ongoing, and it is looking better day by day. At least there are things that are going the way we planned and those have been keeping me busy whilst I wait for those trucks…

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