Steeple!

I knew the center tower was going to be placed this afternoon, so I made another trip to the site.

The workmen were treated to a special lunch which was actually held inside the tabernacle where it is much warmer than the 17 degrees it was outside.  With the annex roof complete, there is no longer a need for ladders and scaffolding to cross the area.  The work of removing the waffle plating and supports below this concrete roof continues.

Mr. Crane delivered decking for the steel beams while I waited.  You can see beams being prepared inside the northeast tower for its tower cap.

Andy Kirby, a senior project manager over the temple restoration, spoke to BYU engineering students this morning.  My engineer-husband was invited to attend, and I tagged along.  This was a more technical presentation than the firesides have been.  Brother Kirby explained that the dark beams are unpainted and will receive a special coating in order to be fire-proofed.  He also mentioned that as they have worked on the building, it's very obvious that the tabernacle was originally handmade.  For example, no two windows are the same size.  He observed that this type of thing bothers engineers, something I already knew.  I learned that while much of the art glass from the tabernacle was saved after the fire, reusing it in the new windows will not produce the high quality required for a temple.

Brother Kirby talked to the students about his directive from Church leaders to preserve as much of the original structure as possible.  The masonry contractor will clean and repair the existing brick, replace what is necessary, and then repoint the mortar.

He explained the process of moving 6.8 million pounds of the masonry shell to a steel foundation using I-beams through the original pioneer foundation.  He called these needle beams.  It has taken quite a bit of skill to properly place the rebar vertically and horizontally in these holes vacated by the beams.  The steel must line up with the rebar in the foundation below and with the rebar in the shotcrete shell above.

These holes from the needle beams were filled earlier this week and are now covered with concrete blankets to help in the curing process in the cold weather.  There are still 15 holes remaining to be filled.  Brother Kirby explained that the foundation was poured in three lifts.  The final lift was injected at 7000 psi.

Brother Kirby talked to the students about the team he works with.  All have particular backgrounds and experiences which make each person extremely valuable on this special project.  However, he advised the students to listen to the technicians who perform the actual work.  They often have answers and solutions gained from their years of experience.

After their lunch, which I was told was delicious, many workmen gathered at the base of the tower.  While they waited for Mr. Crane to pick up the steeple, I walked along University Avenue looking for the best spot to take pictures.  I thought about something Brother Kirby said which I had not heard before.  His directive included using historical elements in the new temple.  While on a ladder after the fire, he found pioneer stenciling along the west wall, near the area where the organ pipes were later placed.  He traced the pattern, and this design will be replicated in the brides' room.  

Brother Kirby told the students that there were no design schematics for this center tower.  Instead, they relied on historical photographs to duplicate it.  While it looks a little too modern at this point, it will ultimately have a "ski-jump" slope at the bottom.  I learned later in the day that this tower will be clad with wood before the slate shingles are attached.

Brother Kirby showed pictures of the excavation and explained weight-bearing lugs which connected the masonry shell to the needle beams.  I had not heard this phrase before.  He showed a picture of a micropile driver which had been lifted into the building and I heard voices of astonishment around me.

Brother Kirby talked to the students about the design life of the new temple, stating that it must stand through the end of the world plus one thousand years.  It was fun to hear waves of laughter as they grasped the underlying meaning.

Numerous questions from the students reflected an interest in the engineering involved, and a professor later commented that no one left the seminar at this point, which is usually the norm that a few hustle to another class.  One student asked how much of the original tabernacle will be part of the new temple.  Brother Kirby answered by saying that as much of the masonry as possible has been preserved.  He knew he was in a room full of people who focused on efficiency, but his directive was to preserve the original structure and include historical elements throughout the temple.  In addition to the brick, original timbers from the four towers have been saved.  The pulpit was preserved, and he has a set of scriptures from the tabernacle which will be returned to the building.

A student asked about the design of the temple.  Brother Kirby explained that two "A" endowment rooms will be at ground level on the east side, to the right of this picture.  Temple patrons will progress through new stairwells in the east towers up to one "B" room.  You might be wondering about the small squares in the plywood under the windows.  I learned this afternoon that the floor is lower than we might think.  The workmen inside the building can see out the squares but not outside the windows unless they are using a red ladder.

Many onlookers stopped to watch the steeple being lifted.  It was a fun day.

You will be interested to know that the construction camera was moved a little to the west yesterday.  Elder Newitt would have liked to have moved it farther, but connections had to be taken into consideration.  I told Elder Newitt that the cam was reporting it was 48 degrees at the site.  We both had a laugh about that.  Perhaps it is picking up some heat from its new location.

If you want to think about being warm, plans are underway for next July's Temple to Temple Run.  You can register here.