Legislative staffers tour the site

On Wednesday, November 18th, legislative staff members received a brief progress update and tour of construction at the Louisiana Cancer Research Center. The staffers were in New Orleans on a bus tour showcasing activities taking place within the city’s growing biomedical district. In the top photo, Steve Moye, LCRC president and CEO gives the staffers a brief overview of the Consortium and the construction project. After donning their hard hats and reflective vests, Brice Construction president, C. Ben Nevins, led the group on a walk through of the building. All were amazed at the progress that has been made in just a few short months.

Solid progress

At this stage, the Cancer Center project has been all about pouring concrete. And, more concrete. And then, more concrete. Followed by some more concrete. And then … well, you get the picture.

In top photo you can see the yellow forms for the monumental concrete girders being poured to support a partial concrete structure and the entire steel portion of the building. Each girder is 4 feet thick, 8 feet high, 120 feet long, and contains over 100 cubic yards of concrete. The unique fact about these girders is that they are more often encountered in bridge and stadium construction.

Of course, all the concrete contains steel rebar for support. At this point in the project, the weight of the steel rebar in the building is equal to more than the weight of two Statues of Liberty.

You can get a better look at the girders in the aerial photo, as well see the amazing progress that has been made. Soon we'll be seeing steel rising as the building continues its upward climb.

Best faces forward

The architects, engineers, and prime contractors tend to get all the attention on major projects like the Cancer Center. But, it is the faces you see above that are actually making it happen. It is their sweat and skills that are on the site everyday making the Louisiana Cancer Research Center a reality. Behind them, you can see the fruits of their labor on what, just four months ago, was a flat piece of ground.

It's really two buildings in one

Because the cancer center will be home to very sensitive samples and experiments, the construction team is going to great lengths to make sure outside vibrations will not affect them. Any vibration, even from a car in the garage 7 stories below, could jeopardize research results.

Imagine building a major facility on stilts that sits 5 stories in the air. Now imagine interweaving a parking garage underneath that facility while making sure each structure avoids touching the other. That’s how the Cancer Center is being constructed.

The parking structure is actually being built as its own building within the main structure to cut down on vibrations that the vehicles may cause. The parking structure and the research center are being erected on their own sets of columns. The columns supporting the garage and the primary building columns, while side-by-side, are separated by just two-and-a-half inches.

The two structures, that occupy the same space and appear as one, are actually separated by about the width of three fingers! The product of clever engineering and skillful construction.

By the dawn's early light ...

A major milestone was met in the early morning hours on Friday, August 28th, when the crews began pouring the concrete slab for the first floor of the parking garage. Over 150 cubic yards of concrete were poured for both the slab and a portion or the ramp that will lead to the 2nd floor parking level. Work has begun on the forms for additional ramps, columns, and beams in preparation for the elevated slab of the next floor. The top photo shows the pre-dawn pour in progress, and the middle photo shows the concrete finishing crew still at work. The bottom photo shows how the site looked in March before the foundation pilings were started.

Bird's eye view

In the bottom photo, taken at the end of May, the pilings have been driven and the site has been cleared and made ready for work on the structure to begin. The top photo, taken at the end of July, shows the significant progress that has been made in just a little over 2 months. The footprint of the building is beginning to emerge, and soon the slabs for the first floor will be in place.

Electrifying progress

This photo shows the electrical feeder conduits that will bring power into the Cancer Center from a large step-down transformer to be located along the South Claiborne side of the site. The 24 conduits, installed by Frischhertz Electric of New Orleans, total about 1.4 miles (7,200 feet) just to bring the power from the street to the building. Concrete will soon be poured into the wooden forms to encase the conduit and protect it from damage.

Meanwhile, concrete wall, column, and grade beam installations continue along with storm water and sanitary piping. Fire pump infrastructure is being placed, and the elevator pits have been completed.

A Strong Foundation

The large monolithic pilecaps have been completed, and over 2,800 yards of concrete have been poured in the pile caps, walls, and columns. While construction of the concrete forms and steel for the shear walls and columns continues (Top photo), communications and electrical duct banks are being installed (Bottom photo) along with sanitary and storm drains. Manpower on the site has increased to sixty-five. A 63% increase from last week.

The numbers tell the story

Sometimes the work site doesn't appear to change much week-to-week so let's take a look at the numbers. They show how well we are moving forward:

250 Tons of rebar steel have been placed to date.

8,400 yards of spoils hauled off.

2,300 yards of fill placed.

1,800 yards of Concrete placed.

27 pile caps for the main building structure completed along with 15 Large columns and 10 small columns

Man power is increasing and the current estimated head count of workers is in excess of forty (40) workers in the field

Brice has started installing building grade beams, concrete material and forms are in place as this activity will continue for many weeks ahead. Completion of large monumental pile caps is expected very soon weather permitting, and first floor underground preparatory work has begun- all electrical, communications and plumbing systems supporting the first floor will be complete before the end of August .

We're moving forward and UP!

In less than 90 short days since our Construction Kickoff event, the Louisiana Cancer Research Center is beginning to rise into the sky. This photo shows the concrete columns that are emerging from the pile caps as the building officially comes out of the ground. Installation of underground conduits and raceways, sanitary sewer, storm drain, and water supply lines has also begun.

Foundation Construction Underway

Work on the foundation for the 10-story cancer center has begun, and concrete caps for the pilings are being poured. This photo shows work on one of the thirty-four monolithic pile caps. After installing a rebar cage, the form is filled with concrete. The two-car garage sized structure of solid concrete will support the future columns as the building rises. Over 1,000 cubic yards of concrete have already been poured for the pile caps.

View from the top

Billy Malbrough, a Brice Building Company, Inc. employee, climbs a series of ladders each day and evening to take his perch in the glass-enclosed cab of his crane high above the City of New Orleans. He sits in this small booth over 180 feet above the ground. Once up, he is there for the day until the long climb down when the work day is over.

Although air conditioned and protected from the weather, the compartment moves and sways with the wind and can lean forward as much as 10 feet when a load is lifted from the end of the jib. Like the new glass floor recently introduced at the Sears Tower in Chicago, Billy’s crane has a glass floor that provides an unobstructed view of the work site below.

Crane facts

These photos show the crane being erected on the LCRC Cancer Center building site. The left photo shows the sections being erected and the right photo shows the completed crane. Here are some quick facts about the crane:

• It is 214 feet tall (just 39 feet shorter than the Superdome)

• The jib (boom) extends 213 feet long

• It can lift an average of 45,000 pounds

LCRC construction update established

A lot of progress is being made on the LCRC construction site and this blog spot will be your one-stop spot for up-to-date information.

June 11, 2009 was an exciting day because the tower crane was erected and real construction begins. In this photo (taken at the end of May 2009) you can see a red piece sticking up from a square of concrete. It is part of the tower crane support structure. The other photo shows the crane being erected.