rare pavilion: Floor Framing

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Floor Framing

- a chapter which could otherwise be called -

The Pursuit of the Perfect Bubbles.

Here is a view south across the pavilion site, with the foundations ready to go and the cedar for the beams piled beyond. (photo by Barry Finnen)

Carpenter Dave works with volunteers Vincent and John to nail together the 4-ply 2x12 floor beams.

Here are the floor beams set in place ...

... and bolted into the beam seats.

John and Vincent prepare the ledger boards, which attach to the beams to support the floor joists.

Here are the ledgers, ready to be installed.

Carpenter Dave installs some floor joists (on one of the very hot days in July) ...

... and adds the rim joist to finish off the floor structure.

Here is a view over the completed floor structure, at dusk.

The sill plates (which sit at the base of each wall) are the first pieces of rough-sawn wood to be added to the structure.

Now the floor is ready for the decking! It was exciting to see the building footprint take shape ...

... and to find those perfect bubbles.

Acknowledgements

The Pavilion at the rare Springbank Community Gardens would not exist without the support of the Cloverleaf Foundation and the Kavelman-Fonn Foundation. The Cloverleaf Foundation’s generous initial gift came at a critical time - allowing rare to plan and envision the space alongside the School of Architecture students who designed it. Construction began and the Kavelman-Fonn Foundation subsequently made a lead gift facilitating the full realization of this initial vision. These donors have invested in environmental education for children and in a community-shared space used by school groups, community gardeners, trail walkers, and general visitors to the gardens. We can’t thank them enough!

You can help support Springbank Community Gardens by clicking here to make a donation. We still need additional site infrastructure: new eco-composting washrooms, handwashing stations, interpretive materials, and support for trail enhancements.

The Pavilion Team

Dedicated volunteers from the rare community formed the construction crew. Whether they helped for a few hours or a few months, these folks brought a remarkable commitment to quality, skillful approach, creativity, generosity, and attention to detail to the building site. Their work was truly extraordinary.

Laura Knap (B.E.S. Arch) worked on the final building design and managed construction. In collaboration with rare staff, she also produced this blog.

Structural design and general reviews were by R.J. Burnside and Associates Ltd.

Amanda Newell is the Gardens and Building Project Manager for rare.

Project design and development for the pavilion began in two master's seminars led by Andrew Hunter and Farid Noufaily at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture in Cambridge. The substantial work of these students gave shape to the pavilion, its siting, and its relationship to the surrounding landscape.

Preliminary Design - Arch 684, Spring 2009: Pooya Baktash, Liam Brown, Heather Brown, Maryam Karimi, Sean Irwin, Sara Nejad, Prithula Prosun, Mike Taylor

Design Development - Arch 684, Fall 2009: Lida Arbabi, Timea Jakab, Fariba Khorashahi, Rebecca Lai, Carmen Lau, Darcy McNinch, Parisa Nikkhou, Morteza Rabbani, Lisa Rendely, Poonam Sharma

The staff and board at rare have provided much direction, insight, and support along the way. The staff team, Environmental Advisory Committee, archaeologists, and educators provided input to ensure that no habitats, rare plants, or cultural history would be disturbed by the construction process.