Some Final Shots of the Building

The building refurbishment has been finished for a few weeks now, although the last few bits of furnishing are still arriving for the courtyard. I thought I'd provide a few last photos to show just how good the building looks. But first my thanks to Lipman for a job well done. The picture below was taken on the day when the team had completed the common rooms and bedrooms. This was an important day for them and us, as it meant that residents were able to move in on time. Of course, they still had the courtyard and roof to complete. As you can see in the background, there was still a lot to do at that stage. But it's all done now!

The Key Lipman Crew Members

A view of the northern end of the courtyard

The new Games Room

The bridge in use as a study space

A space filled with light

A courtyard with varied all weather uses

The Lounge room doubles as a display wall in 'Love Week'

Viewed from the roof of the NCV

Viewed from the Village Green

A key requirement, we can still see the sky!

Thank you to the residents and staff of New College who have endured much during the refurbishment of the building. The good news is that we now have a wonderful building that is helping to add to the already rich community life. As one resident said to me over lunch recently, "The building is now so wonderful, the noise for the first few weeks of semester was worth the pain."

The building in full use

The building is now complete but for a few minor jobs around the place and the various ne spaces are being used well. The photos below show some of the many wonderful 'new' spaces that are now being enjoyed.

Chilling out on the bridge

New Vs NCV in Master's Challenge

The New College Team, with 'ball boys'!

NCV wins the Table Tennis 4-1 for 2nd year in row

Band Night in the new courtyard

Watching Band Night from the bridge

Starting with the 2012 Fresher Dance

Getting ready to perform

Games Room in Use

New stairway from Dining Room to Courtyard

Almost Done!

We're within a few days of completion of the work on the building. The first half of the courtyard became available for use on Tuesday and the new Games Room, Lounge, Kitchen and Bridge should follow early next week. The residents plan to celebrate the refurbishment with its use for Band Night. The 'new' space will be perfect for activities like Band Night. It offers a more open venue without the skylights and, of course, it's an all weather space.  Below are some of the latest images.

View from 1B

The floor has a blackbutt wooden floor insert

In the background are the bench seats that are primarily to ensure ventilation of the space via plenums to the external walls

Bridge and Games Room almost ready for use

Steady Progress on the Roof & Courtyard

I haven't posted for two weeks, but O'Week has kept us all busy. Progress on the building has been good. While visually it has been hard to see the dramatic progress of some weeks, a great deal of work has been done on the courtyard floor, the Games Room and, the Lounge & Kitchen. As well, work on the louvres that protect the sides of the roof from rain has been underway. The engineering residents have had a field day observing the action form the balconies. All the while life in the common rooms and dining room has returned to 'normal' (if we ignore the noise and zones that residents can't access). However, completion of all spaces is expected within two to three weeks. Key achievements in the last two weeks are:

The courtyard slab floor has now been poured
Tiling is set to commence
The games room is taking shape with most of the glass walls installed
The ground floor apartments for visiting scholars and guests have been completed
The shared kitchen is almost ready for use

The photos below give some sense of progress.

Games Room Taking Shape

Completing the Courtyard Floor

New College Viewed from the top of the NCV

Normal O'Week Life in the Common Rooms

Games Room & Atrium Roof Take Shape

The last week have seen some major milestones met in relation to a number of critical path elements in the refurbishment.  Lipman has made excellent progress in relation to the courtyard, games room and roof. Below are a number of shots taken yesterday which show some key achievements.

1. The framework for Games room, lounge and stairway entrance were completed

Above: This shot gives a sense of the scale of the Games room

2. The courtyard skylight holes have been in-filled (note far right partially covered there is a section for one panel of glass floor skylights)

Above: The Skylights have gone and the concrete in-fills poured

3. The first elements of the roof structure arrived on site and the first installation occurred (the installation of the rest of the columns should be completed today).

Above: The first of the 8 columns go in

As well as the above, good progress is being made in the rooms and common rooms. Most rooms are now carpeted, most have some joinery installed, and the first carpet for halls and common rooms is going down. The work on fire safety is well advanced with a large part of the sprinkler system in place on all floors. All in all, progress is good and Lipman and its staff are working valiantly to meet our tough deadlines. In spite of the unpredictable weather the project is on track except for a few non-critical path elements such as the guest bedrooms downstairs.

Above: Rooms nearing completion; this one on level 3 is having the pin board added (carpet is covered)

 

The furniture begins to arrive

Progress continues at New. It has been encouraging to see lots of the rooms taking shape. Some are now receiving their joinery. The first batch of shelves arrived yesterday and units will be arriving daily for some time. Level 3 has progressed most with all services in place for the rooms, carpet well advanced and painting and fit-out commenced. Levels 1 & 2 are a little behind the 3rd floor, but all rooms are stripped, rendering completed where needed and services under way.

The joinery begins to arrive for bedrooms

The first pieces of joinery are going in (new shelves)

Services in place and carpet on the way on level 2

Painting the ceilings on level 3

Progress continues to be good in the courtyard. The skylights are all removed and the rest of the courtyard around them will be stripped soon as well as the concrete infills completed. The challenge with this work is to ensure that no water penetrates, so the stripping of the tiles is a progressive affair with covering (hence the frames) at the end of each day to keep water out.

The skylights have gone!

Progressive clearing of the courtyard.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!