Week 7

Once again, Howdy from your favourite Aggies in London! 

Monday, February 23^rd

Like usual, we started off on Monday with class with Professor Hertz. This week we discussed the wars and some of the battles that the U.K. has been involved with, including WWI and WWII. At the time of WWI, the U.K. had the strongest navy in the world, and it was better than the next top three country’s combined.  New technology such as the machine gun and barbed wire made WWI one of the deadliest wars. 2% of the population in the U.K. was killed and 4% were wounded. After class we took a bus ride to the Imperial War Museum. Professor Hertz walked us around while explaining different memorabilia from the different wars. We saw things such as above ground bunkers (that would only protect you from small debris), the smallest boat that rowed across the English for the Battle of Dunkirk, and different automobiles, subs, and aircraft from the wars. Some of us stayed longer than others and explored the rest of the museum. The Holocaust exhibit went into great detail of the horrendous genocide and lose that the Germans and Europeans endured. Later in the day a few of us went to Texas Joe’s, a barbeque restaurant that is run by a Texas family. Even though they support the wrong Texas school, the food was very good and the atmosphere was reminiscent of home.

Tuesday, February 24^th

On Tuesday we headed back to Wembley for a site visit, but this time it was with McLaren. They showed us both a residential building, which is in the finish stage, and a commercial building. McLaren split up the group into two, one half went to go see WO3, the residential space, and the other half went to go see WO6, the commercial and office space. WO3 is a 15-floor tower, with a bar and relaxation area with a cinema on the tenth floor. Instead of keys or key fobs residents will use key cards to get into their rooms, just like a hotel. Working right next to Wembley comes with hardships such as red lines (areas that McLaren has to work within and has to get permission to go outside the boundary), noise restraints since other residential building have been completed and residents are living in, and conforming their work hours to when Wembley has concerts or events. WO6 is the commercial and office space that McLaren is working on. It is currently the only office site on the Wembley development. WO6 will be 8 stories high when completed, but its final elevation will be the same as WO3 since the ground slope is so severe. The Wembley development will be complete in 2025 and will include commercial, office, and residential spaces. 

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After visiting McLaren at Wembley, we went to Hammersmith to visit a Wates Construction site. They are construction a mega-police station out of a old police station with grade 2 (elements that cannot be removed or changed due to historic significance) elements. Some of these elements include a brick arch that had to be dissembled piece by piece and put back the same way since construction vehicles could not fit through it, stable blocks, and the original staircase. The police station will house every police facility except police dogs and helicopters. It will take 140 weeks to construct, which is quite a long time but there are a lot of elements going into this build. There will be space for local police, horse mounted police, stable blocks for the horses (constructed out of old grade 2 stable blocks), custodial cells, high security cells, and more. This is Wate’s 19^thor 20^thpolice station, so they are professionals at building them at this point. 

Wednesday, February 20^th

On Wednesday we had class with Professor Rodgers like usual. We discussed payment and performance bonds and the difference between them. Professor Rodgers wanted to make it very clear that bonds are NOT insurance and the two should not be mistaken for each other. Since we discussed insurance last week, it made it easy to see the differences between bonds and insurance. We then learned about the different documents and people involved with bonds. At the end of class we did law in the news, where we discussed different construction and law issues in the U.K. Later that night everyone came to the girls flat for a lasagna dinner and to work on Constructionarium, which is creeping up on us fast.

Thursday, February 21^st

Today’s site visit was a little different than the rest. Usually well meet up with one or two contractors and tour around their respected sites, but this day was different. This particular day we met with MR Scaffolding, a well-known scaffolding subcontractor around the London area. Matthew Trayfoot, the health and safety director for MR Scaffolding, took us to several different sites with various contractors to illustrate the different jobs that the company has undertaken and the difficulties of running a scaffolding company. We were given plans to look at, as well as being taught the different techniques of scaffolding that are used in the United Kingdom versus in the Unites States. What was also interesting was that at our last site, we were given a more experienced lecture on health and safety from a supervisor named Martin Forde. He went continually about the importance of safety and how it is the number one priority to get everyone home safe each and every day.

Friday, February 22^nd

This class field trip was one for the books. Following one of the most beautiful days we could ask for, we were privileged to go to Windsor and tour the Windsor Castle. Before we began our tour, Jake Claus (’20) gave us a small preview of Windsor Castle and all of the research that he was able to collect throughout the semester. He was able to get our minds going and get us excited about starting our adventure. We first entered St. George’s Chapel, most widely known as the church where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle got married. Similar to most of the churches and cathedrals that we have been able to see throughout our time in the UK, St. George’s possessed a powerful and uplifting feeling that was covered in history and culture. From the grave of King Henry IV to the beautiful architecture, this was truly one of the most moving pieces of construction that we have visited.

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After roaming about the castle grounds, we finally made our way to Winsor Castle itself. The large and beautiful structure was surrounded by a large stone wall, accompanied by continuous towers overlooking the beautifully groomed grounds. With the given audio guides, we were able to learn all about the architecture and pieces of art that filled the ins and outs of the large structure. From the Crimson Drawing Room to the Ball Room, the architects were impressing every tourist that was walking about its space. It was amazing to learn that this place is still a working building today. A few hours after our departure, we learned that the Queen made an appearance to the Windsor Castle. 

The United Kingdom, as well as London itself, has been full of nothing but great history and unforgettable moments. We cannot wait to see what the future weeks entail.

Thanks and Gig ‘em!

Shannon Caletka ‘21 and Zak Buyajian ‘20