Don't Blink!

Today at lunch, the forms had been removed from our foundation.



By the end of the day, we had walls!



Our garden court neighbor Aaron caught them in the middle of the action. (Thanks for sharin', Aaron!) Apparently, we need to start taking mid- afternoon breaks as well, or the framing will be done before we know it.

2000 Year Old Technology at Work

Our concrete pour happened this morning, rather than Monday as previously mentioned. Apparently concrete contractors, like the rest of us, don't want to work New Year's Eve. But, 7 AM means 7 AM! When we arrived shortly after 8 this morning, most of the foundation was already complete, leaving only the porch, garage, and a small portion of the house to be poured.





We waited for the arrival of the sixth of seven concrete trucks, and then watched as the last of the house and front porch were poured.











Overeager homebuyers that we are, we came back at lunch to watch as the finished surface of the slab was prepared.



After work, our builder Stan saw us yet again at the construction site. When we asked if we could walk on the slab, his response was that if we didn't sink up to our knees, then yes.



As soon as tomorrow, we may have walls on top of our shiny new foundation! The prefabricated tilt-up walls and floor joists also arrived today, and are presently sitting on the vacant lot across McCloskey Street.

Remnants of the Old Airport

This afternoon, Timothy and I went on a walk through what remains of the Robert Mueller Municipal Airport. The former entrance was on the southern edge of the airport, off Manor Road across from E.M. Franklin Ave. The entry road, with directional signage and canopy waiting structures, extends up to the control tower and former site of the terminal. Beyond, all remnants of airport structures and runways have been obliterated in the desolate, lunar landscape of Phase II, where utility work and new roadways are being prepared. Eventually all but the tower will be removed for new construction.





Although the master plan calls for the retention of the 1961 control tower, it has deteriorated considerably since the airport closed. Plans for its reuse are up in the air, likely to be decided during a later phase of construction. The small building footprint and numerous levels will make adaptation difficult. Although the tower does have an elevator for accessibility, fire code would require a second stair for certain uses, which would be impossible within the structure. However, the master plan does have promising suggestions for use of the ground floor:

Additions or modifications that detract from the tower’s original form are discouraged. While adaptive reuse of the tower for other activities is desirable, modern-day life-safety and exiting requirements may prevent it from being used as a public assembly building or viewing tower. Opportunities should be explored for retrofitting the ground floor of the building as a small interpretive center; the first two floors of the tower were originally within the terminal building, and
as a result will need to be enclosed and clad in a complementary manner. Interpretive elements and displays that recall the history of aviation at Mueller and in Austin are encouraged at the base of the tower. (Mueller Design Book, Nov. 2004, p. 101)

To go off on a tangent, I like to imagine the vastly different form the Mueller redevelopment might have taken, if its design had been left up to an idealistic architecture student, not a developer. Comically misleading signage would remain, runways would become roads, new houses and commercial buildings would intermingle with renovated terminals and hangars, and the whole site would have a layered effect where its history and evolution would be clearly legible. At least Catellus is making an effort to retain some of the most important structures and incorporate them into the development.

Monday!

Upon returning from our Christmas trip to see my family in Abilene, we were relieved to find out that our foundation had not been poured in our absence. According to our friendly builder Stan, who we saw at the construction site today, the pour is scheduled for 7 AM Monday morning. It will take 7 concrete trucks, each containing approximately 10 cubic yards of concrete! After the concrete has cured for at least a week but less than a month, they will pull the cables - hence the term "post-tension."

Hey, We're Famous!

Or, more accurately, our soon-to-be-neighbors (and Mueller) are in the New York Times!

Happy Holidays!

Looking over across Phase II, the old airport tower has a lighted "Noel" sign. Happy holidays!

PTSD: Post Tension Slab Deduction.

It looks like we'll be out of town for the big pour. Stupid Christmas. It's only been nine days since they started. I think there may be one more inspection right before the pour and then the framing starts. We might have walls before the new year. Woo Hoo!