Construction, Day 52: The Mezzanine

The real building has begun.

The mezzanine, which will eventually serve as the entrance to the museum, as well as the visitors' first experience of the mountain-like environment, has begun to take shape.

The structure was welded together and the concrete slab was poured last week. Next steps include building the arching staircase that will take visitors over the crevasse feature of the entrance, and down to the level of the museum, into the self-selecting gallery. This format allows visitors to go anywhere they please, at their own pace.

Keep watch for more photos of that phase of construction as they are sure to be exciting.

Construction, Day 27: From the Ground Up

The new concrete floor is now in place, smooth as can be. In less than a day we went from a wire mesh base to an inches-thick slab, courtesy of ABS Concrete. And for those who missed it, I'll now walk you through the process.

(1) Thick concrete was brought in by hose to the floor. I didn't bring my rubber boots so I left the trudging to the experts. Notice the wire mesh that was put down before pouring began. (2) Everything from two-by-fours to shovels were used to smooth out the thick stuff. (3) Then the "super-long smoothing device" (ed.) was used to bring a smoothness to the surface layer. (4) Finally, it came down to working on hands and knees, literally sliding across the surface of the already hardening concrete, to put the finishing touches on the floor.

Too bad it will all get covered up.