New Campus Update: Focus of Work Begins to Shift Inside

New Campus Update: Focus of Work Begins to Shift Inside

by Bob Pomeroy, Head of Operations

Construction Passes Halfway Mark

  • Construction Progress Toward Completion: 62%
  • Days Until Start of Classes in New Campus: 254 
  • YIS2C Capital Campaign Progress: 9.8%

Work crews at the new campus made remarkable progress in April: completing the roofs of both buildings (including installation of solar panels atop the South Building); installing much of the HVAC ducting and other utilities infrastructure, installing elevators; installing nearly all of the windows; preparing the steel framework for the massive skylight above the elementary open hub; and finishing the sand-painted exterior walls, now visible along the north and east sides of the North Building where scaffolding has been removed. At the same time, the focus of activity has begun to shift indoors, with the framing and drywalling of classrooms, offices and other interior rooms well advanced in the North Building, and also getting under way in the South Building. One sign of the changing focus was the recent disassembly and removal of the last 90t crawler crane, which was used for heavy lifting of steel beams and other structural materials and was a conspicuous fixture of the site for many months.  

In parallel with all the construction work taking place, designers have been hard at work on final details for built-in furniture and other fittings in the library, lily pads, Japanese-style multipurpose space and other areas. It has also been an extremely busy period for coordinating final design details and work plans with specialist contractors for IT, science lab equipment, auditorium lighting and sound systems, kitchen equipment and other areas. Following a well-deserved Golden Week break, crews will continue with interior finish work while also beginning installation of the cedar panels on the western and southern facades of the North Building and northern facade of the South Building. Construction of the bridge connecting the second floors of both buildings is also slated to begin in May. Stay tuned for further updates.
 

More videos and photos are available in the New Campus Construction album in YIS Photos.

aerial view of new campus construction, with sola panels on the roof of the south building

Aerial view of the campus in mid-April. (Right) Solar panels are visible on roof of South Building. (Left) Bags of soil are ready for preparation of the green roof on top of the auditorium wing.

Close-up of solar panels.

interior construction of school hallway with construction equipment in hallway

Third floor open hub and classrooms take shape as drywall and door framing work proceeds.

interior construction of school gymnasiuam
Gym work in progress mid-April.
working drawing of finished school gym with basketball court and nets

Working rendering gives sense of the eventual gym space.

 

Japanese style room with paper sliding doors, wooden floors and tatami mats on wooden floor

Working rendering shows interior of Japanese-style multipurpose space on 4th floor roof. Outside the shoji screens on the right will be an engawa veranda and Japanese garden.

working drawing of auditorium interior with red seats

Working rendering of the auditorium interior. Tiered seating is retractable, allowing space to be opened up for a variety of uses.

Man standing on roof looking out towards trees and a bridge

Enjoying the view from the 4th floor deck near future Japanese garden on a recent site visit.

90ton crane being disassembled

Gokurosama! With structural work mostly complete, workers disassemble the 90t crawler crane used for heavy lifting up to now.