The R G Carter team at the Mayflower Building, have had their work cut out with the challenging installation of five glulam roof beams at this new teaching and business facility at Boston College.
Designed by SDM, the beams are over three tonnes in weight and over 13 metres high, and will form a large open plan atrium in the centre of the building. Designed to visualise the hull of a boat, they are a nod to the original Mayflower ship that took the Founding Fathers to America.
Held in place with a steel foot base plate, and predrilled welded fitch plates, the beams come in two parts, assembled on the ground and then hoisted up. The first one was secured as part of the temporary works, and then one beam installed each day and braced in place. Not an easy task but should have stunning results, with an acoustic ceiling to be installed beneath.
Read more on this project: https://www.rgcarter-construction.co.uk/mayflower-building-breaks-ground/
More on Boston College: https://www.boston.ac.uk/student-life/campuses-and-facilities/mayflower/
