Email #72 - Stairwell Under Cover

One of the things I find interesting about building construction sites are the temporary structures built and used only for making the building, and then dismantled.

The top photo here shows a simple one: a platform layered over the top of the south stairwell of the Grand Staircase. The top of the stairs is beneath the left edge of the platform. A similar platform covers the north stairwell. The workers call them "dance floors."

The platform allows workers easy access to the ceiling above the stairwell, as well as the perimeter walls, which have not yet been built. The platform also allows me to take photos from a space that will not easily be accessible once the stairwell is re-opened. So I took this picture of the platform itself in order to better explain how I got the perspectives of other photos, like the bottom one.

The bottom photo shows the view looking south from the platform into the South Wing studios. Eventually a wall will be built covering the HVAC ductwork in the foreground.

Although the building has been moving really fast in February, I have not sent out any photos for two weeks now. I'm still taking lots of photos, but I haven't had time to edit them and think up something to say. So it's more "writer's block" not "photographer's block" that slows me down. In the next week, I'll try to catch you up with some of the changes, especially on the 2nd floor, but I might write less.

At the leading edge of the race to finish, the cabinetry has now been installed in the Construction Management offices.

John Stamets
Feb. 22, 2007