Unity College
May 18, 2011
TerraHaus Groundbreaking
Demolition and Re-Use
On a cold, wet day in early May, AKD and the GO Logic crew place pink flags to mark corners of the TerraHaus foundation and check the solar orientation. In the days to follow, a surveyor will stake the corners of the building, the centerline of the access road, and the utilities layout.
The Cottage in the center of the first image at right will be removed during demolition, as will a second Cottage out of view (behind the photographer). The gravel driveway cutting diagonally across the image will be used as the haul road providing access to the building site throughout construction and later removed during final site grading.
The second image shows the area where the two cottages were removed. Compare the images by looking at the pine trees to the right of center in the images and the junipers that were partially obscured by the Cottage in the center of the first image. Note too, the topography around the remaining Cottages, in particular the building in the distance to right of center. In order to create a flat area for the foundation slab of these original buildings, fill was brought in and mounded up around each Cottage building site.
The third image shows the excavation for the TerraHaus foundation slab in the area that had been partially covered by one of the removed cottages (the pink flags mark the corners of the new building). The darker, stony material on the right is the bank gravel[1] fill brought in years ago to make the building pads for the Cottages. The reddish brown material in the center and to the left is the original, native clay soil of the site and will be compacted and used as the subgrade for the foundation. Some of the bank gravel will be re-laid around the TerraHaus building site to create a stable working surface for the GO Logic crews and equipment during construction.
[1] Bank Gravel is material found in natural deposits with a mix of particle sizes ranging from sand to pebbles and fist sized stones.
