This is one of those weeks that marks a real milestone in the construction project. There have been others [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6], but this is one I have been anticipating ever since we decided in August 2009 to change the program of the Annex from a storage and garage area to a second control room. Here is the awesomeness we imagined:
And here’s where we are:
Read on for more details of this and other new developments…
Last week I didn’t post an update because nothing much was visibly changed. The Annex Cloud was being built in the shop, but that doesn’t make for great photos at the site. This week the Annex Cloud was delivered and hung. It is beautiful:
It will be even more beautiful when we find the one strip of fabric that managed to sneak away between Durham and Pittsboro. Here are some other views:
Last week’s post reported that construction was gearing up for the final push. This week we are pushing hard. A final (?) visit from the crane delivered the last major pieces of steel to be installed, a pair of pre-welded hexagonal steel columns each connected by a pre-welded flitch plate across the top:
Here is a detail of the steel showing a column marking “C” (of A, B, C, and D) welded into the flitch plate: Continue reading “Week 177 (Starting the Pergola)”
It has been 8 weeks since my last construction blog update, and with another flurry of construction now in progress, it is time for another post!
The big changes are mostly happening beyond the studio, starting with the landscaping that surrounds the Main building:
With the soil tilled and prepared down to a depth of 12″, the beds are ready for the grasses:
It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted any progress photos, mainly because most of our construction work is again invisible: caulking, sealing, repainting, etc. However, one aspect of the project has been visible, and is now completed: the steps that connect the North Patio with the path that circles property. Three weeks ago, our West and North Patios met up for the first time, and work began on making the foundation for the steps. The transformation has been from this:
to this:
to this:
Things have been quiet inside the studio this past week; not so outside! A succession of machines has been transforming our landscape from this:
to this:
Last week was all about getting the console commissioned. This week was all about getting the rest of the Control Room finished, notably the glass diffusors. Two years ago this month I published a posting titled “A prototype” and this week that prototype became an actual installation. The prototype:
The final result:
Their amazing beauty is not easily obtained…
Nearly three months ago we chose the week of February 14th as the date for commissioning our API Vision console. And every day since then had been a sprint to get ready for that date. Along the way we hit innumerable obstacles, and every time we needed a do-over, we’d have to redouble our efforts to make that schedule. But on February 14th, we had enough pieces in place to begin the process we’d been anticipating for literally years. After one last look at the holes in our Control Room,
it was time to take off the wrap and see the beast:
If this blog posting appears to be a little bit late, it’s because last week was a long week. Nevertheless, the preparations were successful, and so here are the construction photos for the last bit of work before installing the console.
To finish the Music Room, we had to install our swining “bifusor” panels. These panels are diffusive on one side and absorptive on the other. Here you can see the diffusive side:
The fit, finish, and operation of the panels is, like everything else in the studio, a delight to the eye and a joy to touch. And it was good exercise lifting them into position…
One of the great milestones in the construction of any recording studio is the installation of the Control Room window. We have now achieved that milestone:
The physical properties of the glass are impressive. Pictured above, the 4′ x 14′ outer plate is 1/2″ thick and weighs nearly 400 lbs. On the Control Room side, below, the 4′ x 8′ plate is 3/4″ thick and weighs more than 330 lbs. It all looks nice and clean now, but getting everything in place was not easy…
Manifold Recording / The Miraverse 
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