Cohesive Construction

2010-05-12T04:36:00.000-07:00

Completion work

2010-02-04T06:56:00.001-08:00

The dome will be completed in early March when the weather permits a week-long engagement by second year architects led by Michael Pike.

Site Works - latest photo

2009-11-03T15:46:00.000-08:00

Site Works - Latest Images

2009-10-09T11:38:00.001-07:00

Now What Exhibition

2009-10-08T02:08:00.001-07:00

All the different Now What groups will be exhibiting their work in Smithfiled over the coming weeks. All are invited to the exhibition which opens Friday 9th at 7:30pm

Site Works - 20th September

2009-09-25T09:37:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to Mark Halpin for these images.

Site Works Aug.31 - Sep.5

2009-09-06T07:26:00.001-07:00

We now have completed all of the necessary brickwork to proceed with the dome!

We have placed an additional timber guide within the structure to aid in the correct positioning of the tiles for the dome. This guide represents the line of 1/2 of the dome (or 1/4 of a sphere) from springing point to oculus.

The dome tiles are cut to fit with the arches and laid out prior to plastering and placement.

The first layer of tiles is laid with a mix of pure gypsum plaster which is mixed in small batches immediately prior to laying as it hardens quickly in 1-2 minutes.

These tiles are laid in correct position by triangulating the line off of the timber guide. With practice the tile placement has become much quicker and cleaner.

The second layer of dome tiling is laid with concrete and set at a diagonal angle relative to the first tile layer. The dome gains strength through this process of lamination while breaking the joints.

Doming will proceed all week.

Site Works Aug 22-26

2009-08-30T05:51:00.000-07:00

Work has been progressing all week on the brickwork corner buttressing as this needs to be in place prior to completing the dome. Work has been slow due to the high number of specials where the brick meets the arches, but we are almost over the hump(s). The dome has arisen in each of the corners but will begin in earnest next week. Thank you to all who have been putting in the hard hours on the brickwork, especially - Carthage, David, Mark, Bruno, Alex, Ian, Elaine, Rae, and Suzy.

Site works - 20th and 21st August

2009-08-25T03:54:00.000-07:00

We've completed the arches and have started work on the dome. The key thing for the coming week is to keep the brick rising walls ahead of the dome, as we cannpt complete the dome until the walls are in place.

We used the lower course of the arches as a test for getting the placement of the slips right for the dome - and so used casting plaster to allow us to perfect the mixing of small amounts of plaster (enough for one slip) to the correct consistancy quickly. This will be critical for the dome as we will be relying on the plaster to set quickly and to hold each slip in place as we work upward.

Pines Calyx time lapse

2009-08-20T05:38:00.000-07:00

A time-lapse of the construction of the main dome in Pines Calyx using timbrel techniques.

Site Works - 19th August

2009-08-19T12:35:00.001-07:00

Laying bricks continued and we passed the 11th course on all piers. This means that the angle of embrace for the arches is now less than 52 degrees for the remainder of the arch. This will allow us to complete the brick slip portion of the arches and get going on the dome. The remainder of the brickwork will follow on over the next few days to its completed state.

The beam across the top of the site is part of a setting out methodology for the dome that we will be testing tomorrow. It replaces our initial idea to use a central pole. Once we have the system working correctly we will document it here.

Ecocem

2009-08-18T12:31:00.001-07:00

Many thanks to Ecocem who have provided a significant quantity of cement for the project, which we are mixing with Portland cement as required. Ecocem is bascially GGBS, and using this reduces the carbon footprint of our project by substituting a by-product of industrial processes for cement that is made locally and consumes a significant amount of energy in its manufacture.

Site Works - 18th August

2009-08-18T09:34:00.001-07:00

Works today took the walls to 7-8 courses high.

Site Works - 15th August

2009-08-17T08:12:00.000-07:00

We continued bricklaying and building the arches today as was the case last Friday. Work was still slow but we managed to get to the 5th course on each pier, so we are getting a bit faster. We're taking tomorrow (Sunday) off and will continue where we left off on Monday.

Site Works - 14th August

2009-08-17T07:58:00.001-07:00

Dermot Fullam from Dermot Paul construction came back and gave us a very thorough lesson in brick laying. There was a lot of work in getting things going in the correct manner. I think that we all gained an insight into the skill of a good brickie. We are going to take this section of the works very slowly to ensure that we can be accurate. Hopefully as we learn we will get faster.

Our intention is to work each pier up simultaneously with the arch, to brace against the buckling experienced in the earlier arch test. We will have to lay the first 12 courses this way, until we reach the point where the angle of embrace is reduced to less than 52 degrees. Once this is the case we will be able to complete the arches and start work on the dome as the brick walls continue to rise.

Site Works - 12th August

2009-08-12T11:16:00.001-07:00

Today was spent finishing the remaining forms and erecting on site to get ready for the construction of the arches and walls starting tomorrow.

Time Lapse

2009-08-12T10:52:00.000-07:00

As part of the work of the group Rae and Carthage have been covering the site using time lapse from two camera positions. The first rush of one days work is now ready. A full video will be posted once the workshop is complete.

Design Tool - Masonry Domes

2009-08-12T10:36:00.000-07:00

Wanda W Lau of MIT has a number of very useful tools to assist in the design of masonry arches and domes on her website. Of particular interest is this graphical analysis tool.

Many thanks to Michael Ramage for forwarding this to us. We will use these as part of the ongoing research into the redesign of the space resulting from last weeks work.

Design Workshop - Analysis of failed arch

2009-08-11T07:41:00.000-07:00

Following the collapse of the arch we carefully sorted through the broken pieces of the arch to attempt to form a full critique of the problems we had encountered. The following is a synopsis of what we observed:

Not enough overlap between upper and lower brick courses allowing potential for joints to occasionally pass right through the arch. The cause of this was the rapid work method we had used, where the lower course was frequently completely obscured by plaster. Where good overlap been achieved the arch was very strong and it was difficult to retrieve bricks without breaking them.
Small air-pockets between both courses. Again this appears to have been a product of the frenetic work method employed.
The casting plaster was occasionally crumbly and hadn't set to a full strength.

Based on the above we held a design workshop over Skype with Michael Ramage and Peter Brunner.

Michael was incredibly useful and outlined our problems as being primarily geometrical in origin. A Catenary arch would be a far more stable form for a universally loaded arch to take, whereas a taller circular arches need some buttressing to contain the lateral load without buckling. Based on the discussion it appears as if the route forwards is the following:

Drop the arches slightly (another 100mm or so)
Build the side piers to the arches at the same time as the arches. This will entail keeping the formwork in place until the end of the project.
Build the arches by placing the brick slips one by one. Use casting plaster for the lower course. This is not strictly necessary for the construction but will give valuable practice for the dome works.
Use portland cement for the second course to save casting plaster
Use bed-joint reinforcement for the bricks to the lower section of the piers.
The geometry of the dome as designed should be fine - in this he mentioned that a good rule of thumb is to keep the angle from the apex of the dome to the springing point to a maximum of 50degrees.
As we dismantled the collapsed arch we noticed that occasionally the casting plaster hadn't set hard but rather was biscuity and slightly crumbly. Michael recommended wetting the bricks before laying as this will allow for a greater adhesion between the casting plaster and the bricks, without the bricks taking too much water from the mix.
Again in dismantling the collapsed arch we were able to pinpoint weaknesses in the pattern of overlapping between the upper and lower levels. Rae prepared new patterns for how to do this to ensure complete cover through the arch. Michael commented that running the second course perpendicular to the first would be adequate for our arches.

We will modify our existing formwork and complete forms for the remaining arches. On Friday we will have a brickwork workshop with Dermot Fullam of Dermot Paul construction to allow us to work through the weekend.

Site Works - 10th August

2009-08-10T07:27:00.000-07:00

We designed the formwork to be easily removable, first dropping the edges from underneath and then pulling away both sides in turn.

As we dropped the formwork it became clear that there was a major problem with the arch, as it dropped with the formwork, eventually completely buckling to one side.

We cleaned up the site, and managed to salvage most of the bricks. Our instinct is that the geometry of the arch is wrong, being too upright where it bears on the pads. We also feel that there were errors in our construction methodology with not enough overlap between the first and second courses of the arch.

Tonight we are going to have a design workshop with Michael Ramage to adjust the design to solve these issues. We meet tomorrow morning to adjust the formwork and begin again.

Site Works - 7th August

2009-08-10T07:19:00.000-07:00

Today we got the first delivery of brick slips and made our first attempt at constructing a timbrel arch, the first of 4 we need to bear on.

We decided to loose lay the brick slips and work the casting plaster in from the top side.

As we worked we experienced some problems with getting the lower courses to stay in place as the bricks we built up along the formwork. To counter this we ended up working and casting in sections.

As we finished up we noticed that one side of the arch had come away from the formwork. as if the arch had buckled during construction. Propped by the top of the formwork we decided to wait until Monday to strike the formwork to see if the arch is self supporting or not.

Site Works - 5th August

2009-08-07T01:57:00.001-07:00

The formwork was brought to site, leveled and propped in place to take the first arch.

Great work by Carthage, Rae, Paul, Suzy, Fiona, Anne, and Dina over the last two days. Bring on the bricks!

Site Works - 4th August

2009-08-07T01:45:00.000-07:00

Today started out with checking the tolerances of the concrete on site. We were within 5mm accuracy on plan, and about 2mm vertically. Not bad for the first time most of us have worked on site.

As we don't get the first bricks until Friday most of this week will be spent readying ourselves for this. The first thing is to make the formwork for the timbrel arches. We will only make one to begin with, and test this over the weekend. If it is stable we will prepare the rest of the formwork for late next week. Our concerns stem from the fact that our proposed arches are quite upright when they spring from the ground. There is a possibility that this may not work.

The primary design consideration for the formwork is how to remove it afterwards. We are making ours in two halves so that each can be propped and removed independently of the other, and without destabilizing the arch.

Site Works - 31 July

2009-08-01T05:06:00.000-07:00

We finished the formwork for the concrete by placing the boxes to cast the upstands on the pads. These up-stands will provide an edge for the arches to spring from. Great care was required to get all the boxes located accurately. This was done using triangulation off the central pole and lots of patience.

The threatened rain didn't materialise, but we were anxious to place the concrete as quickly as we could. With Dermots team working two mixers there was a steady stream of barrowloads of concrete to the site.

Dermot gave further demonstrations as the concrete was poured in using a poker to vibrate it to an even consistency.

By the end of the day 4 all pads and trenches were poured and the site and all tools cleaned. We meet on Tuesday to start work to get ready for making the arches.

Construction Workshop No.2 - Pouring Foundations

2009-08-01T04:54:00.000-07:00

Dermot Fullam from Dermot Paul Construction gave a workshop in mixing, pouring and vibrating concrete. We are using a 4:1 mix for the foundations, and in the trenches to prevent corrosion to the re-bar.

Many thanks to Dermot and his crew who gave their time and skills. They will be giving other workshops as the job progresses.

Site Works - 30 July

2009-07-30T09:24:00.000-07:00

The day started with a visit from Structural engineer Peter Brunner. He clarified the requirements for the pads and re-bar, and inspected the bearing conditions at the pad locations.

We then used a water level to get a consistant level around the four pads.

And we kept digging to level off. One all holes were ready we were able to start fitting the formwork boxes to cast the pads in tomorrow.

Hardcore arrived on time which meant that we will be able to pour the foundations tomorrow.

Site Works - 29 July

2009-07-30T09:20:00.000-07:00

Digging out the pads continued today, and the trenches connecting these were marked out and dug out also.

By days end we were ready to start leveling out the holes and making the formwork for the concrete.

Site Works - 28 July

2009-07-30T09:10:00.000-07:00

Our First day on Site!

The site was set out, and after prolonged, occasionally heated, but always intelligent discussion a final location was fixed, at an angle to the field, and holding the edge of the route down to the site.

The centre of the site is to be marked with a central steel pole. This pole allows us to coordinate all set outs on site throughout the job as radii to this central point.

Ryan Kennihan dug the hole for the post, which was raised, plumbed and cast in concrete.

Once the concrete had set we could set out the site and commence digging the pads.

There are 4 pads, one at each corner of the dome. These are 900 x 900 x 300 concrete over 200 compacted hardcore. These pads are connected by tie bars which act to counteract the lateral forces from the dome.

Brick Slips

2009-07-28T04:11:00.000-07:00

We met with Dermot Kelly and Ciaran O'Reilly of Lagan Bricks to agree the bricks to be used for the project. From the options presented we chose a smooth-faced red brick.

As the slips are cut from full bricks they will each have a cut and a smooth face. In addition the slip from the back of the brick will have a different texture to the slip from the front. Lagan will batch separately so that the lower (exposed) course of the arches and dome can be completed in a consistent finish.

Lagan will be commencing fabrication of the brick slips tomorrow. the first delivery to site will take place lat next week. Lagan also intend to give a workshop on the history and technology of brick-making, the date for this will be confirmed later.

Construction Workshop No.1 - Setting Out

2009-07-23T09:22:00.001-07:00

We held the first construction workshop with Michael Murphy of the building lab in Richview today.

In order to set out the project we are going to use a large, centrally located steel pole. This will be cast in concrete and plumbed. It will form the basis for all subsequent setting out on the project and will require a high degree of accuracy in its placement.

Once in place we will use radii off this pole to locate corners of pads, and to set up strings to determine trench lines etc. As the dome rises we will also use the pole to check the accuracy of the domes form.

Michael also gave a demonstration of the use of digging equipment we will be using to dig out the trenches and pads.

Fund Raising Complete

2009-07-23T09:14:00.000-07:00

The table quiz was a huge success and we would like to thank all those inside the group and beyond who came along, paid up and helped make for a great evening.
The Cohesive Construction project is now fully funded and we will shortly commence works on site.
Many thanks to Calin for taking these photos.

PRIZE UPDATE!

2009-07-20T10:08:00.000-07:00

Spider Vaults

2009-07-20T04:40:00.000-07:00

This blog documents the design, engineering, fabrication and construction of an unreinforced stone masonry vault featuring new forms for compression-only structures.
The project is a collaboration between Escobedo Construction and Prof. John Ochsendorf and Philippe Block from MIT. By combining the MIT team’s expertise in three-dimensional equilibrium of complex structures in unreinforced masonry and Escobedo Construction’s expertise in design and construction of stone buildings, we expect to produce a state-of-the-art pavilion.

The vault is being designed using Thrust Network Analysis, a new computational tool developed at MIT for exploring three-dimensional equilibrium structures.

Temple of the Four Winds

2009-07-18T05:25:00.000-07:00

As we will be placing our structure in the 'garden' adjacent to the studios, it seems we will be adding our contribution to the long history of architectural garden follies , of which the above by Sir John Vanbrugh is a fine example.

Meeting 02 - Minutes

2009-07-18T05:02:00.001-07:00

Thanks to all who came to the meeting on Thursday.

Progress to date:.

Our Fundraising Table Quiz is set for Tuesday evening at 4 Dame Lane. We expect all of our group members to be there with a team each! Thank you to all of the quiz night sponsors including :

Castlepalooza Festival for 4 festival tickets to quiz winner and 2 for raffle
Littlewoods for 8gb Ipod
Westwoods Fitness for 2 free passes
Jacquart Champagne for 2 bottles of champagne
K&M Evans Art Supplies – for a 50eu voucher
RIAI Bookshop – for 7 books
P&K Cycles – for Bike Helmets and Lights
Kings Inn Pub – for wine

The First Draft of our domed room design is being reviewed by our structural consultants. Michael Ramage and Peter Brunner
About the House will be filming the construction of our room for a segment on their program
We will be holding the first building workshop for the group and beginning the setting out of the project on Thursday the 23^rd at 2:00pm. In order to participate in the remainder of the construction process all group members must attend on Thursday. Please inform us if you will be unable to attend.
Our site has been chosen with the assistance of Michael Murphy of the building lab on the corner of the field between the 4^th year studio and the building lab.
The required bricks and brick slips have been generously donated by Dermot Kelly of Lagan Bricks

Programme:

Please consult the programme to the right hand side of the page for regular programme updates as it evolves. Provisionally we have:
Wednesday 22^nd, the site will be strimmed and 3 members will assist Michael Murphy with a quarry run for sand and gravel
Thursday 23^rd, first building workshop for the entire group, setting out the site. Mandatory attendance.
Monday 27^th, Construction teams begin work on foundation excavation. Schedule to be agreed.
Thursday 30^th, Rebar and foundation pouring.

Actions:

GROUP – Spread the word about the table quiz!
GROUP – put up posters and distribute publicity on our sponsors
GROUP – photograph all aspects of the process as things move forward.
GROUP – Please email us if you have any construction experience as we need to set up our construction teams.
Fiona Suzy Ryan Andrew and Colm- Quiz questions and organization
Elaine - Investigating sources / prices of British Gypsum Casting Plaster and strimming (weed wacking..) the site in preparation for Thursday’s workshop.
Carthage – will be setting up the time lapse photography and finding a location in the planning offices. First photographs to be taken by Wednesday’s site clearing.
Anne Nielsen – is our member in charge of documentation and regular photography. To begin taking photos now.
Alex Doran, David LedWith, Conor McGowan to go on Quarry run with Michael Murphy on Wednesday at Lunch
Simon Canz – to purchase 3no. builders’ shovels, 2no. buckets, and builders’string for the Thursday workshop
Philip – (still) Checking on sources of ply to use as the temporary support to the arches on which the dome will bear.
Dina – (still) looking for a 3m metal pole
Ryan, Andrew, Colm – Continue to liaise with Michael Ramage and Peter Brunner to work up the design of foundations and buttressing.

Keep up the good work!

Meeting 2

2009-07-16T07:17:00.000-07:00

Just to confirm that the next meeting of the workshop will take place in our offices at Strandstudio, 65 Great Strand Street, Dublin 1 at 6:30pm 16th July. See you then.

Brick Construction Workshop

2009-07-15T07:47:00.001-07:00

Just confirmed. Dermot Fullam of Dermot Paul Construction, an expert bricklayer, will be conducting a workshop on brick construction for Cohesive Construction once we are on site at UCD. Date and time to be agreed.

Lagan Bricks

2009-07-15T02:26:00.000-07:00

Dermot Kelly of Lagan Bricks has very kindly offered to help us out with the materials for the project. Lagan are now the main sponsor for the project, and although we still need to raise monies to fund tools and other materials, this donation goes a long way to making the project viable. A big thanks to Bruno Vidal of the workshop for taking the initiative, making the contacts and putting this in place.

Table Quiz

2009-07-15T02:00:00.000-07:00

All are invited to come to the Cohesive Construction table quiz on Tuesday 21 July at 9pm. Theres a great array of prizes on offer including tickets to the Castlepalooza music festival.

Building and Testing a Timbrel Vault

2009-07-14T10:59:00.000-07:00

Simon Canz found this interesting video showing in detail the construction and testing (to failure) of a timbrel vault. Turn sound down to avoid the panpipe music!

We Have a Site

2009-07-14T09:29:00.001-07:00

We met Michael Murphy from Richview this afternoon and agreed a site for the project

The area is as we discussed at the last meeting, between the building lab and the fourth year studio. The site, held on two sides by relatively mature trees and a level change, opens out to views of the route from main campus.

The exact location will be to the right of the steps down from the quadrangle, in order to avoid drainage runs in the area.

Close to the building laboratory, and relatively sheltered it also offers practical advantages for the construction period.

Michael was also incredibly helpful in offering advice and equipment to aid the works. He will be assisting the project in the form of occasional workshops related to the phase the project is at (setting out, pouring foundations etc). More info on this at the next meeting.

Update

2009-07-10T09:45:00.000-07:00

Alex Doran has managed to get as much sand and gravel as we will need for the project from a Roadstone quarry on the M50. We just have to arrange the transport of this to UCD. This is a great start, as it will take care of a lot of the materials we will need for the foundations. We will still need to get cement and possibly some rebar for this element of the works. Many thanks also to Roadstone for this.

Meeting 1 - Minutes

2009-07-09T12:59:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to all who came to the meeting today. As we discussed we will run this as a mini construction project. The intention being to leave a 'gift' behind for Richview in the form of a domed room.

In order to make the project a reality we have to finalize the design, raise funds, agree a site, secure materials, secure tools and ensure adequate insurances etc are in place.

The basic design is for a 4m x 4m domed space, bearing on 4 low arches. Buttressing to these arches will take the form of walls to either side of the arches.

Progress to date:.

We have received preliminary assistance from Michael Ramage in the Architecture department in Cambridge, who will be giving more comprehensive advice as he receives information.
We have begun talking to Peter Brunner, an excellent young Irish Structural Engineer who will be available to help us design issues relating to foundation pads etc.

Programme:

We envisage 2-3 weeks of preliminary work including securing funding and materials and 2 weeks on site.
Works on the logistics relating to the project will be assigned at each meeting
Work on site will proceed in 2-3 person teams.

Actions:

Fiona and Suzy - Tag / General fund-raising wizardry
Elaine - Investigating sources / prices of British Gypsum Casting Plaster as detailed by MIT for laying the first course
Philip - Checking on sources of thin ply to use as the temporary support to the arches on which the dome will bear.
Carthage / StJohn - investigating sources for tools, with particular emphasis on the building lab in UCD
Dina - looking for a 3m metal pole
Alex - checking into sources of concrete
Andrew / Ryan / Colm - We will meet Hugh, Michael and others in Richview early next week to agree a site and general admin issues related to the project. The next meeting will be organized to immediately follow this. We will also be liaising with Michael Ramage and Peter Brunner to work up the design of foundations and buttressing. This will enable us to bring more comprehensive drawings of the project for general discussion.

Everyone else is not off the hook though! Keep your thinking caps on, particularly as regards raising funds to cover our costs.

Pines Calyx

2009-07-09T12:57:00.000-07:00

We mentioned Pines Calyx in todays meeting - a timbrel vaulted scheme in the UK. I can't link directly to it, but you can navigate to info about it from the main guastavino homepage. Just click on the image of the Pines Calyx dome.

Workshop Full

2009-07-09T03:24:00.000-07:00

Cohesive Construction now has a full complement! Names of all involved are listed in the right hand column of the blog. The meeting this evening will give more detail about the project and assign tasks to individuals to allow us to take the project forwards.

More Information

2009-07-08T03:39:00.000-07:00

There is a bit more about the historical background to the construction technique here.

And here is some info on the Cuban Art School. This large project designed using timbrel construction was partly realized in the mid 20th century

Lastly here is a comprehensive study on the structural properties of timbrel vaulting

MIT Research

2009-07-08T01:25:00.000-07:00

As part of the workshop we will be getting advice from people involved in the Guastavino Project in MIT - Particularly interesting is Michael Ramages Thesis - in which he built a small dome (1.8m x 1.8m) in a weekend.

His text describing the process is worth reading

First Meeting

2009-07-07T08:20:00.000-07:00

The first meeting of the workshop will take place on Thursday next, 9 July, at 6:30pm in StrandStudio, 65 Great Strand Street Dublin 1. All are welcome

Welcome

2009-07-07T08:11:00.000-07:00

Welcome to all members. We will use this blog to document the project from initiation to completion.

Many thanks to James, Alice, Fiona and all at Richview for providing this opportunity.