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Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Action Everywhere!

Machines were already at work this morning when I arrived.
The winners of the noise-making contest were in the west lot deconstructing the NuSkin garage.
It was quite exciting.
I'm still mystified as to why I didn't take up watching construction earlier in my life.
I'm seeing a pattern here: Mr. Track Hoe simply removes the problem.
Maybe simply isn't the right adverb.  You can see part of a huge truck in the lower portion of this photo.  Mama Track Hoe loaded rebar noodles and cement blocks into it and was fastidious about getting all the rebar inside the truck.  This truck and his many associates entered the garage lot via First West, were loaded up, and then drove straight onto the south lot, exiting onto Second South.
These tandem trucks entered from the south lot, and then did an amazingly graceful three-point turn before backing down along the west side.  It all looked choreographed.
There is a big pit growing where the NuSkin garage used to be.
The work had been going on for quite awhile before I arrived at 7:30.  There were still lights on so they could see in the early morning hours.  It was also very cold.  I actually had to return to my car for my gloves and then felt sheepish when I saw men working without theirs.
I studied these three pools for quite awhile.  Water enters the pool on the right through the blue hose, but my engineer husband thinks it might be recycled water with sediment from the drilling in the basement. The water drains into the third pool on the left, and there is a green pump, not pictured here, which is either acting as a bubbler for unseen fish or is pumping the water into the basement for the drilling machine.  I could not determine where the original source of water is, although there are a lot of hoses.
This is the wizard behind the curtain, probably making the grout or cement to fill the new casings in the basement.
An R2D2 relative is helping in some way.
This little front end loader raced out of the basement like a sick child. 
He quickly dumped his load of mud at the base of this track hoe, perhaps as an offering.  Who knows what pleases track hoes? 
Once the sun rose, I was able to see Mr. Drilling Machine in the basement.  I watched while he drilled this tall casing into the ground.
He took it all the way down.  Then, lickety split, the workmen inserted another casing into its maws, and he drilled that down, too.
Notice where the two casings fit together.
I love looking at the tabernacle in the morning sun.  I was on my way to the north lot to see what was happening there.
I was baffled to see it all dug up again.  
This new trench goes all around the retaining wall in the north lot.  I could see the east barrier through the stilts from the west side.  I can't explain what is happening.  Maybe next week I will venture a guess.
I also have no idea what this new contraption is.  It's right where a drilling machine was working last week, next to the rebar circles.  I don't think it's a crib for the queasy front end loader.
One of the tower caps has some new holes.  I studied close-up photos but didn't learn anything.
The other two tower caps are right where they've been all winter.
A new rendition of the temple is hanging along the construction wall.  This is a view from the southeast.  The new temple will be beautiful.
Well, actually, it already is.

4 comments:

Heather H said...

I love reading your updates, that drawing of what it should look like finished is beautiful!

Unknown said...

Uh, that's something new. Notice that the new rendering of the finished temple does NOT have an Angel Moroni on it. It makes me wonder if that was an oversight or design change.

Thanks for the updates.

Chad said...

@Eric, I saw the poster with the rendering and there are a few things about it that seem odd. There is no Moroni, and the 3-tiered fountain to the south isn't there either. The landscaping is also different (and less ornate) than other newer ones. I'm sure it's an older rendering. My best guess is that it was created between the rendering showing 1st South still there and the newest ones showing the fountain. It may have been created quickly for government purposes during the acquisition of 1st South. I'm not sure why FFKR Architects and Jacobsen Construction spent the money to print it.

Unknown said...

@Chad, as a Mechanical Design Draftsman by trade who works with 3D models and renderings I panic when I see something that is that significantly different from everything else. (Granted I work with the mechanical side of things instead of the architectural side, but the principles are the same.) Suppressing the Angel Moroni in the model and substituting a spire really is a significant, conscious decision. Everything else I've ever seen (including the plans turned into Provo City) still have the Moroni on top so I too would agree there has not been a change in the ultimate design. However, someone had to go to a lot of effort to make the rendering have those changes.