Today@Arcosanti - Construction category

VISIT - TO ESD ENERGY SYSTEMS DESIGN

Arcosanti Habitat Coordinator Scott Riley and Cosanti President Jeff Stein met Monday morning with engineers Halleh Landon and Ali Ardebili of ESD/Energy Systems Design in Scottsdale. ESD is an electrical and mechanical engineering firm at the cutting edge of sustainable design, recommended to us by Arcosanti alum and City of Scottsdale Sustainability Director Anthony Floyd.

Scott and Jeff are seeking proposals for heating and cooling Arcosanti’s bakery upgrade/renovation on the third floor mezzanine of the Crafts III building. Solutions for this small but complex space will be a test for larger systems (including how to use greenhouse air) throughout Arcosanti.

The work is meant to continue to support the reason we are here: BECAUSE of our location in central Arizona, not in spite of it. ESD will research ways to meet codes and comfort requirements while still allowing folks at Arcosanti to feel connected to sun and seasons and place.

ESD’s own LEED-certified offices overlook the Soleri pedestrian bridge and plaza and themselves take advantage of serious and elegant (as in ‘mathematically elegant’) energy-saving mechanical and electrical designs/devices. More to come…

[photos: Halleh Landon and Ali Ardebili,engineers at ESD, Scott Riley at EDS with low-flow A/C vents as wainscote]

[photos & text: Jeff Stein]

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012!

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!

This is an Aerial view of Arcosanti in 1972.
The South Vault was the first structure built. West of the Vault we can see the scaffolding for the shell of the Ceramics Apse, below that are the footings for the Foundry Apse.

[photo: Ivan Pintar & text: Sue]

MAINTENANCE - HEATSOCK

The Maintenance crew is working on the cafe level in the Crafts III building. Here we see maintenance manager Randall Schultz and crew Dan Thompson preparing the winter season 'heatsock'.

[photo: Andrea Speed & text: sue]

Note the crossbar mounted to the top of this very long tube of canvas. This crossbar holds a fan.

[photo: Andrea Speed & text: sue]

Brent Scott, harnessed for safety, is operating the winch that pulls the heat sock up to locate it center under the skylight. Randall and Dan insert a hoolahoop into the bottom of the sock, so it will keep its shape.

[photo: Andrea Speed & text: sue]

The idea is that the fan is located right under the skylight where all the [rising] warm air collects. This fan gently pushes the warm air down into the heat sock and the warmth distributes into the cafe.

But there seems to be a mistake. 'Oh NO', the fan is working the wrong way and it's pulling Randall up and away. YIKES!

[photo: Andrea Speed & text: sue]

MAINTENANCE - CAFE - KITCHEN

This continues our reports from 8/19, intermittent to 9/7/1, about upgrade of facilities in the cafe kitchen in Crafts III.

The new hood is in place and here we can see the suspension from the ceiling.

[photo & text: sue]

Protective covering of the stainless steel wall sheeting has been removed.

[photo & text: sue]

The gas-lines for the stoves have been re-installed ...

[photo & text: sue]

... with new shut-off valves.

All next week we will report on another project that has been going on at the same time, the model building of a unit of the LEAN LINEAR ARTERIAL ARCOLOGY.

Continued reports of the kitchen upgrade will follow.

[photo & text: sue]

MAINTENANCE - CAFE - KITCHEN

This continues our reports from 8/19 to 8/31/11 about the installation of a new hood over the stoves in the cafe kitchen in Crafts III.

Steel braces have been put in place to support the new hood all around.

[photo & text: sue]

The hood is installed suspended from the ceiling and workshop participant Laura Mancini is in the small space above to thread the fasteners to the ceiling connection.

[photo & text: sue]

Mike Grantham [in back, on the ladder] and Tim Curran [to the right] from 5 Alarm Fire-Protection-System Installation are the main contractors to head installation of the new hood.

[photo & text: sue]

The protective sheeting on the new stainless steel wall covers can now be removed. Here we see construction volunteer Paolo Van Erp and construction manager David Tollas.

This report continues next week.

[photo & text: sue]