September Construction Update

Sept 3, 2009

June 18 marked the official topping off of the 6-storey 265,000 square foot Taylor Family Digital Library at the University of Calgary. Don and Ruth Taylor, who have contributed significant funding to the project, along with several U of C executives were tasked with pouring the last concrete for the mechanical equipment pads in the rooftop penthouse. This major project milestone was achieved on-schedule and on-budget.

The panelized pre-glazed curtainwall system by Flynn is progressing well and installation is ahead of schedule with an average of 30-40 lineal meters of building perimeter closed in each working day. Installation of the level 6 curtainwall was completed to the roof parapet by the end of August. The podium glazing to the learning commons (NW) area will be completed in September to permit the building to be sealed against the elements by early fall.

After dealing with a wet and stormy July and August, which caused some challenges to keep the building dry, the roofing is progressing well. The start of interiors is getting underway with the installation of framing of ceilings and full-height walls complete on all floors. Boarding and taping is progressing in advance of the access floor installation, which began on Level 3 at the start of September.

The structural steel for the +15 link from the TFDL to the MLL will be installed by mid-September with the roofing and glazing to follow.

Construction of the High-Density Library - a separate 30,000-square-foot facility that will be constructed at the U of C's Spy Hill campus in NW Calgary - got underway in June with the demolition of existing structures on-site, site grading, and soil replacement to prepare the building pad. Site servicing, detailed excavation, and forming of the concrete foundations all got underway mid-August. The first concrete for the footings is being poured the first week
of September.