Front Windows at Parkview

Today the glass went into the aluminium frames on the front of the first unit.  It is in fact a commercial curtain wall which fronts both the 1st and 2nd floors.This faces Stirling Park across the street and will fill that end of the building with green views.

Phoenix Glass and Aluminium brought in a hydraulic lift to raise the aluminium frame into place yesterday and today put in the glass.  These machines are incredible and it seem to be easy to learn how to use.  Like a lot of the increasing mechanisation in construction, the efficiencies and safety make it well worth renting the equipment.

Stirling Roofscape

The guys are starting to deck the third floor. I wasn't comfortable to climb up there to sketch so contented myself with the view form the second floor.  This will be the view from the rear bedroom. The Hintonburg roofscape is charming and the Peace tower is quite prominent. We realized recently that the views from the roof deck will include not only Parliament Hill, but likely the Gatineau Hills as well.  Spectacular.

Marty and Mike, the two lead carpenters, had hung the trusses for the third floor and rear deck and had just discovered a slight discrepancy in the side wall lengths - like an inch over 40 feet.  True to form the conversation was, "find out where the mistake is and we'll fix it".  Cabinet making 30 feet off the ground.

Soft Site

In the parlance of urban design a 'soft site' is one that is prime for redevelopment.  There are many of these in the Hintonburg neighbourhood of Ottawa.  Of course there are many variables, not the least of which is the asking price of the land.  I haven't been inside, but I imagine this small building would make more sense to demolish than renovate.

Reborn as a Taco Stand

After realizing that sketching grey buildings on on overcast day was not the route to dramatic composition, I found my way up to Wellington Street West.  This little building might have been a used car lot office originally, but has been creatively transformed into a little piece of Mexico.
Ole its a snow day!

Grey House, Grey Day

I've been looking to sketch this house for a few weeks.  Today was too cold to draw outside, but I managed to snag a parking spot that nearly had the angle I would have liked.  There are two large silver maple tees in the boulevard which is unusual on Hintonburg's narrow streets.   On hindsight, I might have chosen a more colourful subject on such a grey day - not even enough light for strong shadows.  Oh well, all part of the learning process.

Don't Look Now, but there's a Moose on the Roof

I've been spending some time in the Hintonburg neighbourhood lately as that is the location of the Stirling Avenue house project.  The nieghbourhood and Wellington Street West, in particular, have been undergoing a wonderful transformation and renewal over the last few years.  The street has branded itself as an arts area, but to visit, you might think of it as a foodie district with the number of new, small restaurants with innovative menus.

The law firm Beament Green, has contributed to the momentum of this renewal with a spirited building renovation complete with a moose sculpture on the roof.
Good for them.   Fun on the outside and serious on the inside.

The sculpture is actually a flat silhouette and was crafted by Charley Pachter.  This Toronto based artist is famous for his iconic moose sculptures and paintings, which manage to balance irreverance and respect while incorporating Queen Elizabeth.
www.capchter.com

Big Day on a Small Site

A surveyor will verify the grades tomorrow, but it seems the breaking-out of rock is complete.  John McRae has been using a large shovel to load the fractured limestone into trucks for two days to empty nearly the whole site to a depth of 1.5 -1.8 m.

The form materials were being delivered ready for forming of the foundation walls directly on the rock. Large packages of the styrofoam modules that will be assembled as insulated concrete forms were lowered into the hole with a special boom truck.  Even on a small project like this as much as possible is done by machine. The next step is is assembly of the forms which will likely take about a week, depending on the weather.

Chipping Out

We started removing rock on the Stirling Avenue project Wednesday. It is limestone and breaks fairly easily where it is weathered near the surface, but is much harder below about  60 cm. down.  John McRae is the excavation contractor and he has to really 'put his sholder into it' using the wieght of the machine to force the bit down into the rock which lifts the front of the tracks right off the surface. He handles that machine like a surgical tool.  I think if we taped a pen to the end of the hoe-ram he could sign his name.

We're not going down to a full basement, just for frost cover so we should be ready for forming foundations next week.

Tree House

This tree house is behind a home in the up and coming Hintonburg neighbourhood here in Ottawa.  It sits up in a maple tree and must be fairly well hidden and a green retreat in summer when the trees are in leaf.