emerging structure
Since reopening the country last month, it’s been a steady forward motion on the site. After the last construction update on here when they’d finished most of the structural columns, and begun part of the cage of the roof, the work continued to race ahead.
Luckily this has been one of the best springs weather-wise in many years and so it’s been very conducive to getting on with it with no delays. In the past three weeks the crew has:
finished the structural columns
built the back terrace
sealed in the floor that will be underground
constructed the entire steel and wooden shuttering for the poured concrete roof
laid the foundation of the 2nd floor studio
poured the concrete for the flat roof sections
(waited 2 weeks for that to dry)
removed the shuttering
started the block walls
We went regularly during the process and one morning came early enough to see it without the crew. We climbed on the scaffolding, took in the views, and it started to really come together in my mind. I think one pivotal point for me was about a week after the initial ‘Phase 2” opening in italy, when we were allowed to see friends (at a distance), after a little coffee date, we stopped by the property during the crew’s lunch break. Since most of the work has been done since just before the lockdown, our friends hadn’t seen the property since just before the ground was broken.
In fact, when we arrived to the site, I realized that none of my friends have seen even one stone of the house so far - as it’s been done while no one was really allowed to visit. So just being able to walk around with no workers on site, show them around, and look at the view - it really reached a new level of realness for me. That this will be home one day, and there will be friends here, there will be laughter, stories, meals, and memories.
Since then I’ve been able to really envision the final project in a fresh way. Plus, each new “passo” step that is completed, it looks more and more like a house.
with a roof.
and walls.