25 October 2008

Daring exploits

Yet again, the trusses are on the ground. I've given up predicting when they're going to be lifted because I now officially have no idea. Everytime I think, it must be this week, something new comes up. So let's say that when either one of them is lifted I will be as surprised as everyone else. In the meantime more cabling is being added and bolts are being tightened. The cabling, I assume, has to do with the ETFE membrane that will be attached on the underside of the truss. But this is a guess and all will be revealed in the near future. While on the subject of attaching cabling, I am astounded at the courage of the workers that carry out this perilous task. They literally climb all over the truss, sometimes without harnessing, to attach the cables to their respective places. These are the true heroes of 2010 and a hearty congratulations to them. The second truss is also progressing well, as can be seen in the pictures.

Back of the first and front of the second, the two trusses stand nonchalantly, unaware of their importance.

A closer view. Note the piece being inserted into place in the foreground, and our heroic truss-climber on the top of the truss in the background.

Blood, sweat, tears and human power have gone into assembling these trusses.

A piece being levelled for attachment. The pieces attached above the two 'tusks' are pre-fabricated as can be seen here.

Men standing on elevated platforms, the massive Kobelco and two Castle Crane Hire cranes all going at it to complete the truss.

The whale-like back end of the superb new roof truss.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Drove passed the stadium and saw the trusses being assembled. The enormous scale of these structures is truly remarkable. They seem huge on your photos but they are even bigger in real life. Do you know how the perforated sheeting is going to be waterproof? David

Stadium Watch said...

Hi David, thanks for posting. Yeah, the trusses are massive. The perforated sheeting going on the outside of the truss is mainly for effect. It's meant to give the cladding a transparent look and it means that people walking through the upper levels of the stadium, will be able to look through the sheeting, out over the city. Where the truss extends over the seats, the PTFE membrane will be on the underside (hopefully I'm not mistaken) preventing water from hitting the spectators.

Stadium Watch said...

Sorry, I'm mistaken. The perforated aluminium only extends up the vertical extent of the girder. The horizontal area, covering the spectators will be covered in solid aluminium