Tuesday 26 February 2008

Fixing a hole where the rain gets in...




...and stops my mind from wandering. Here are 2 pictures taken from what used to be the ladies toilet at stalls level on the south side of the hall (Grindlay Street). They show the demolition of the old triangular stairwell that took people to and from the Upper Circle, and is where we will have a new circular staircase to connect all three levels of the hall. This was always one of the key aims of the project as the old stairwell was designed to keep the masses separate from the glitterati of Edinburgh's Edwardian society. I don't think any survive now so we can all mix more freely.
The partial view of the yellow machine is a robotic demolition tool. It can be controlled to go into tight/awkward areas and blast away so that humans don't have to.
This area of the project has caused many headaches. The interior concrete wall proved to be in poor condition and would not support the structure of the new stairwell. A large amount of steel reinforcement has had to go in to the walls to provide the necessary strength and support, which has been costly and caused some time delays.

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