In-between all the other projects being built at the Imagination Corporation these days, we have been finding time to finish off a few features for the inn. The Atlantis stone is now complete. Once it is set in the ground with vines growing up one side, it will look like it is a thousand years old.
Much of the work we are doing on the Hazelnut inn will never be seen by our guests. The features simply need to look like they grew there. The Under Hill suite will have a giant tree 'growing' on its green roof. A skylight will be tucked between the twisted roots. This feature has a lot of hidden engineering and work inside. The roof of the suite will be cast from thick concrete with an opening and short pony walls around it. The tree will sit over this opening. We first welded up a heavy plate steel structural flashing. The tree structure was then securely welded to this flashing. Quarter inch pencil rod is hand formed and welded into a grid in the shape of the tree. Rocks and twisted roots are all hand formed and welded into place as well. After this flashing gets a couple of coats of paint to prevent rusting the crew will carefully tie galvanized lath over this framework. Then we will trowel on our special mix of fibreglass reinforced concrete and sculpt the tree details in painstaking detail. When the building concrete has been poured in coming months we will have a giant crane lift the tree into place. Greenery will be planted all around it. It will instantly look like it has been growing there forever.
Today we received some very good news - our development permit application has been approved! With our DPA for form and character all sorted out we are ready to apply for our building permit. We're bound to have shovels in the ground in no time!
Peter has had this powerful hankering to build a giant head for the longest time. He's even designed one into various theme park projects from time to time. But each time the head has been cut and Peter has been thwarted. But Peter doesn't give up easily.
As the plans for our inn were drawn a giant head got worked into the story and *finally approved by all. Construction on Peter's giant head sculpture began at long last. First came the welded steel armature, covered in expanded steel lath. Peter was so happy he climbed up on top and did an exuberant dance of joy!
With the lath work complete it was time for the actual sculpting. A thick layer of concrete was troweled on and when it had partially set the crew at the Imagination Corporation carved in the detail to make it look like a giant sone sculpture - just like Peter's long held vision. After the concrete had cured we began the painting process. The base colours are now painted and soon the final glazing and aging will begin.
It is very exciting to see our ideas for the Hazelnut Inn, first realized as drawings and in model form, coming to life in real life. The first feature (nearly) completed is the 'power tower' which will sit on the front corner of the property. Power lines will come to this tower and then go down underground from there. The tower is very tall and is built in three sections in the shop (plus a fourth to be built on site). As soon as the foundation is ready we'll transport the pieces to the property next door and set them in place.
The scale model of the Hazelnut Inn is finally fully painted. Looking it over, it is easy to imagine how the project will look when complete. The inn's warm and cool colours will play against each other beautifully. The two taller buildings are separated beautifully by the Under Hill suite, which will be largely hidden by the wall around it. The rooms and gardens of each suite are all very similar in size although they don't appear that way on first inspection.
With the model finished, everyone who will help us bring this magnificent dream to life as we build will be able to see and understand exactly what we are seeking to accomplish. The building plans and all of the accompanying engineering are almost complete and it won't be long now until we break ground at last!
