03/08/2021
NBAU Blog Takeover – Week 6

Self Reflection

Reaching over half way in the construction process last week and reflecting on how far we have come as a group and as individuals has been very rewarding. With this milestone however came some lethargy, which can often be exacerbated with a perceived lack of progress. The start of the week felt like this for me but I’m learning from this process that there are sometimes days of preparation and even though you feel like you’ve done nothing, it inevitably enables times of peak productivity and progress. Despite the slow start, the end of the week felt like we made lots of progress, with some big visual changes to the building.

Matt

Week 6 – Ethics and Second Fix

26/07/2021 – 30/07/2021

Monday – 26/07/21

To start the week we split up into a few groups, focusing internal tasks due to the poor weather. These consisted of internal wall box building, insulating in the courtyard underneath the roof tarp, setting out the bathrooms and continuing with the electrical wiring. We were also informed that the kitchen was going to be delivered on Wednesday. So a big effort was required to get all the floor insulated with floor panels down before then.

Tuesday – 27/07/21

The following morning the floor continued to be insulated and covered alongside covering the courtyard walls with membrane and fixing vertical battens. Additionally the structural plywood beams required different fixing bolts to what was originally installed, so these had to be replaced. By the end of the day the majority of the floor panels were down, transforming the internal space of the house.

Wednesday – 28/07/21

On time, the kitchen arrived in the morning and was stored in the house. Without unpacking anything it was shocking to see how much packaging waste a single room can produce – we need to think carefully about how we dispose of it all. Throughout the day the main tasks were to insulate and membrane the external walls at the lower level and to begin to install some windows in the courtyard. Seeing the first window go in was very satisfying.

Thursday – 29/07/21

The main focus for Thursday was to prepare the building for incoming rain. This required insulating the upper levels to the walls and applying another layer of membrane to the walls and parapet. A lunchtime the group took part in an Ethical Practice CPD presented by Carys from the RIBA and Alistair from Collective Works. This was very interesting and made for some good conversation and debate. Following this we began to prepare some window openings on the external walls for window installation. By the end of the day the building had become a completely black box and ready for the rain!

Friday – 30/07/21

Due to a long day Thursday – Friday became a day of site admin and further rain prep. Every now and then a site tidy up is required to ensure safe working conditions and to organise this so we know where they are. This took up most of the morning. Alongside this some more windows were installed. After a slightly later lunch the group gathered together to reflect on the week.

A note from Studio Bark

No Building As Usual is an ambitious student build project running for 10 weeks over the summer of 2021. The programme addresses the climate emergency, diversity in the built environment professions, and the need for cross-industry collaboration.

Many thanks to blog and NBAU project collaborator NMITE

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