rare pavilion: Preassembling the roof and walls

Monday, September 19, 2011

Preassembling the roof and walls

With the floor structure in place, we gained a nice level working surface on site. We used the surface to set up a jig, where we preassembled the roof and walls of the building in frames or "slices". Here you see Dave and Jack fastening roof members to wall studs.

... and the first "slice" of the building set aside.

Using the jig (which is kind of like a three dimensional template) allowed us to assemble a series of identical roof-and-wall frames. Well, they were almost identical. Below is a snapshot of the most complicated feature of the jig -- where we successively added 1/8" shims to the jig as we placed each successive sloping roof member. While the roofing plane slopes significantly east to west, this small adjustment added a gentle north-south slope to the roof as well, allowing for drainage off the roof to a single point.

And so the pile grew...

While the rough-sawn lumber used for the roof and wall members has a wonderfully soft and rich quality, it did present some extra challenges during construction. Nominally 2"x4" or 2"x6" in size, the thicknesses of the rough-sawn members in fact vary by as much as 3/4". And so John kept track of the assembled thicknesses of each frame, in order to plan the custom blocking that would be necessary to maintain an even 6" wall stud spacing throughout...

... using his revolutionary 3-dimensional notepad.

None of this was quite enough work for Vincent, who did push-ups between frames to stay in peak physical condition. Well, at least while I was taking photos.

Finally, we had a very large stack of frames indeed - about one third of the total required.

Here is a photo inside the stack of frames - you can begin to see the slightly wedge-shaped space created by the staggered roof members.

The end of a satisfying day's work!

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.