For many years and probably even before it was opened in 1969, the O. S. Longman Building (OSL for short) has been bordered to the south by the university farm. It is a piece of the country in the middle of the city and the view from the OSL is one that is appreciated by many of my colleagues. A roadway about a mile in length runs around the farm and it is a popular walking/jogging circuit.
In previous years, the field has seen different crops grown and harvested and animals have come and gone. I remember barley stalks waving in the breeze; I remember cows quietly grazing, then excitedly loping toward the hay truck in the afternoons. Last year, a coyote was out there catching mice (supposably :-)
This year, there was no crop and there were no animals. In August 2000, clearing of the overgrown field began, in preparation for the construction of a practice field for the 8th IAAF World Championships in Athletics. I had originally thought that the practice field was to be built to the southwest of the OSL but the arrival of three Euclids proved me wrong. I took some pictures before much work was done and continued to photograph as work progressed. I later thought to chronicle the construction to the best of my memory.
August 2000The EUCs arrive. The operators of these enormous, oddly-named earth movers spent a few days removing the vegetation and some topsoil, dumping it a short distance southeast. They then spent a couple of weeks, 8 hours a day - driving in circles to excavate two large pits, building up a large earthen mound around the perimeter of the east pit. Three or four pine trees are removed for vehicle access. [ photo 01 - 58 kb ] |
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September 2000After the pits were excavated, smoothed and levelled, next came the sand. [ photo 02 - 42 kb ] Truck after truck, from early morning to late afternoon, depositing innumerable cubic metres of sand. Light coloured sand, dark coloured sand; layer after layer. This went on for a while especially on the east pit. To keep down the dust, one person had the task of spraying water all day long. It looked like fun except on the last few days when the weather turned cold. The sand-haulers have long boxes with a hydraulic lift mechanism. It's quite impressive to see how high the box is lifted, [ photo 03 - 32 kb ] One afternoon, a load of sand shifted during dumping and tore the box off the lift, tipping the truck bed to one side. Damage estimated at $50,000. No one was injured. |
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October 2000While the east pit continued getting layer after layer of sand, the west pit got its own sand treatment but it was followed by a cover of plastic or rubber and then some more sand. The oval track was put in with, you guessed it, more sand. [ photo 04 - 37 kb ] One day, a couple of smaller vehicles (are they still called steamrollers if there is no steam?) zipped around the track after it was flat and level as if to test it out. The track also got a black cover and more sand. According to the plans, the east pit will be artificial turf and the west pit will be natural grass, which explains why the west pit got what appeared to be a layer of soil on top of the plastic sheet. [ photo 05 - 72 kb ] As the month came to an end, so did the sand/smoothing on the east pit. Between the two pits, some walls were built. It's too early to tell what this structure will be. The first (very light) snowfall arrives. |
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November and December 2000Work-site traffic is much lighter [ photo 08 - 35 kb ]; the steady stream of heavy machinery is replaced by the occasional visit by a crane, pile-driver or truckload of building materials. [ photo 09 - 53 kb ] [ photo 10 - 34 kb ] No more work is being done on the playing fields and the support building is slowly taking shape. [ photo 12 - 31 kb ] During a cold (-25 ° C) week in December, a lamp was installed on-site giving a nice orange glow at dusk. To me, the west wall is vaguely reminiscent of a castle battlement. One can imagine a trebuchet firing upon the wall or an attack with a siege tower under cover of night. [ photo 11 - 38 kb ] |
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January 2001To get a sense of scale of the building, you have to take a look from ground level. [ photo 13g - 50 kb ] The signs on the gate read: "HARD HATS AND STEEL TOED BOOTS MUST BE WORN ON THIS PROJECT"; "SLOW CONSTRUCTION AHEAD"; "DANGER CONSTRUCTION AREA TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED"; and "DANGER AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY". Relatively mild weather meant significant progress this month. Girders were laid and the main-floor roof was put in. [ photo 14 - 48 kb ] Forms for the arched wall and ramp at the building entrance are also visible. [ photo 15 - 43 kb ] Near the end of the month and into February, the temperature hovered around freezing and slightly warmer. Some larger-than-normal cement trucks along with a ridiculously long-armed contraption were involved in some work on the roof. [ photo 16 - 57 kb ] Tall cranes returned to set a frame for what might be a vaulted entrance hall; the arched wall and ramp is almost finished. [ photo 17 - 45 kb ] |
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February and March 2001Seasonal temperatures returned in mid-February and lasted until the end of the month when it went from -20 °C to +8 °C in about a day. The long-armed contraption, which is actually a concrete pumper, returned with the warmer weather. [ photo 19 - 63 kb ] Good weather continued into March. Several green pallets were fork-lifted to the roof; it looked like large sheets of foam insulation that the workers applied to the roof amidst steamy vapours from some liquid they were using. [ photo 20 - 53 kb ] The "skylight" got a dual layer skin (yellow on top of blue) on its skeletal frame. [ photo 23 - 61 kb ] |
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April 2001The facility will be called Foote Field after a university alumnus who has donated $2 million towards its construction. Mr. Eldon Foote has previously donated to other community and athletic programs. Drilling cranes made holes for lamp posts for the east field early this month. [ photo 24 - 35 kb ] The posts (estimated height of 60 feet, 30 meters) were installed on the 25th of the month. Installation takes about one hour per post once the crane is in position. The two lamp posts closest to the building have a metal cage at the top by the lights but the other two poles don't. [ photo 25 - 69 kb ] Watering of the west field resumed this month. April temperatures were seasonal starting with lows of -5 °C and highs of +8 °C climbing to +5/+18 °C by the end of the month. The EUCs are back, moving soil from the SE dump to both fields, raising dust clouds behind them. The west field now has a 20-foot (7 meter) high berm at each end. The so-called EUCs [ photo 26 - 28 kb ]are actually Caterpillar 613B scrapers. A concrete pad was built on the west side of the building and the silvery metal framework for bleachers or stands was installed. There are windows on the east side of the skylight that are just visible from our angle. The top edge of the curved wall is sanded smooth periodically. [photo 27 - 49 kb ] The concrete pumper placed a slope at the east side of building. A shallow strip has been removed and a white form put in place around the perimeter of the east field. [ photo 28 - 68 kb ] The west-side stands are almost all in place now. Approximately 100 pallets of white rolls of plastic (?) with coloured stripes (orange, green, red, yellow, blue, org/blue, red/yel, etc.) are in a fenced area north-west of the construction zone (bottom right of photo), and a number of similar looking pallets are in front of the stands. [ photo 29 - 52 kb ] |
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