The frame for the ship of the North Star suite of the is well under way. The giant, welded structural frame certainly dominates the Imagination Corporation's shop and is much too large to go out of the door in one piece. This part of the ship is built in three sections that will unbolt to get it out of the shop. Each has to be fabricated in such a way to ensure there is no water will ever find it's way into the building enclosure. They will be fastened together again when we do the final assembly. Peter is now in the process of welding up the roof that goes over the windows of the bedroom. There are countless angles to be calculated and measured as we go. Each of the hundreds of pieces we cut needs to fit perfectly so it can be securely welded to the assembly. This is the undoubtably the most complex feature of the entire Hazelnut Inn! It is looking pretty spectacular already. In about six or seven weeks it will be time to lift the ship into position on the front tower of the inn. We are very excited and counting the days...!
Around Christmas last year the Hazelnut Inn was featured in Signcraft magazine. The article focuses on each room's unique signage. Most hotel rooms are identified using numbers ― only the very best rooms receive names.
Of course, every room at the Hazelnut Inn is the best room! (Though everyone seems to have their favourite.) With this in mind, we knew our rooms needed names!
Our first room will be called the North Star. Its sign features an anchor and compass rose.
Our second room will be the Under Hill. It is identified with a heart shaped lock and key.
Our third and final room will be named the Copper Crown and is identified by (what else) a copper crown!
Each sign is handcrafted to match the unique style of the room it identifies. I can't wait to see them installed!
The construction crew has the Hazelnut Inn forms for the footings all buttoned up and all of the rebar carefully tied into place. We are ready to place the concrete! It is pretty exciting to say the least. Now all we need is the final blessing of the city officials and our structural engineer. Then the fun will really begin! Stay tuned...
We've been busy in the shop fabricating the upper framework for Hazelnut Inn's ship. The Imagination Corporation has built many tall ships in the past but this one is significantly different. This one has to be watertight and finished on the interior as people will be staying in the room. This means that how things fit together is critical. Tolerances are tight. The challenge is to adhere to the engineer's specifications while still staying true to the artistic design. A ship is different than many structures as there are very few straight or level lines and yet it must be totally symmetrical, which is the real challenge. Each piece of steel is unique and needs to be carefully fit with complex angles on both ends. One by one the pieces are measured, cut and fit and then fully welded into place. As a full assembly it is much too large to go out of our shop doors in one piece and so it is built in sections which will unbolt and then easily bolt together once more when it is reassembled on site. This also means we have to build flashings into the frame sections to ensure it is all watertight when we are done. There is a lot of consultation between Peter and I as we go forward and we are both enjoying the experience!
It's been an exciting and busy week as the onsite construction of Hazelnut Inn has begun at last! The carpentry crew arrived Tuesday morning to begin building the forms for the footings of the buildings. The footings are much wider than normal because of the amount of concrete to be used in the walls and suspended slabs of the rooms. This will ensure the rooms are soundproof and fireproof for the comfort and safety of our guests. The footings for the green walls are lower than the building footings to allow for sloping ground and the three garden pools. It's a little confusing for the casual observer at this point but will become clearer as the vertical construction begins and the final ground levels are formed after the concrete is complete. While the construction crews are busy on the site our crew is working full blast in the shop on the prefabricated components.
