5th May. One year after Servane and I conceived this project (in its current form, that is) and started discussing how we would build it. It took the architects a few months to come up with the drawings and then another couple of months for the council to approve the plans. We used a contractor and an engineer whom we already had in mind for the construction. Work formally commenced in January 2006, with a 12 month period for completion.
The present photo shows the timber plank formwork freshly removed. The concrete was strong enough to support its own weight after about two days, but we gave it a couple of extra days to ensure that it wouldn't stick to the undressed timber. It took a team of carpenters about two weeks to build the formwork.
One side was built first, then the electricians came and laid in all the conduits for the wiring and the boxes for light switches and power points. Finally the carpenters nailed up the other side of the formwork and braced it together. Because we were doing a continuous pour of walls over three metres high, the weight and outward force of the concrete was significant and the biggest fear was that the formwork would bulge and leak (or come apart altogether!) in places. Luckily this didn't happen at all…
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15 Park Lane 
Love it 🙂
I’d definitively like to have more explanations, however. Would love :
– a scan of the master plan (aerial view) if avail.
– under each pic, the time it took to build what’s seen
– a countdown on each pic (well, a reverse countdown) – maybe in the title – expressed in days since the workmen went onto the place : “D+ 132, Front View”…
also :
– how did they do the imprint ? is it only by putting planks on the frame that you get this effect ? (a shot of the frame used to pour concrete would be appreciated)
– I had in mind everything was to be prepared offsite (prefabricated panels) then moved on site for erection. Has it changed, or am I wrong ?
looks big, anyway 😀
Comment by samueld 5 May 2006 @ 12:00 pmanother comment : your concrete walls look “brownish”, as opposed to your slab, of a classical concrete gray (from what I can see, at least)… did you tint the concrete or use some kind of colour ?
Comment by samueld 5 May 2006 @ 2:16 pmsam!
your questions are reproduced, with my answers in [CAPS]
Would love :
Comment by 15parklane 8 May 2006 @ 8:54 am– a scan of the master plan (aerial view) if avail. [I’LL SEE WHAT I CAN DO, SIR.]
– under each pic, the time it took to build what’s seen [ABOUT 2 WEEKS TO BUILD THE FORM, ANOTHER 3 TO 4 DAYS BEFORE TIMBER STRIPPED OFF]
– a countdown on each pic (well, a reverse countdown) – maybe in the title – expressed in days since the workmen went onto the place : “D+ 132, Front View”… [UHH, TOO HARD. I DON’T KNOW!]
also :
– how did they do the imprint ? is it only by putting planks on the frame that you get this effect ? [YES] (a shot of the frame used to pour concrete would be appreciated) [I DIDN’T TAKE A PHOTO OF THE FORMWORK BEFORE THEY REMOVED IT…]
– I had in mind everything was to be prepared offsite (prefabricated panels) then moved on site for erection. Has it changed, or am I wrong ? [THAT WAS THE OLD PLAN. IT DIDN’T WORK AND WE WENT BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD… LOST A WHOLE YEAR MESSING AROUND WITH THAT!]