Its been a while since the last update on the construction of Mareel so here is the latest news.
Piling works were completed on Friday 21st August. Car park – rock excavation has been completed and work started on grading the site to underside of base course (the level before the final surface - tarmac is put down). The soak away in the car park has been excavated and a small amount of contaminated material has been removed thought to have been due to a small diesel spillage some years a go.
The steel reinforcement has arrived for the ground beams and the fabrication of beam cages has commenced, concrete is being poured and final foundations now under construction.
The pictures below show good progress on the foundations - the clear outline of the building can now be seen. The brownish pipes sticking out of the ground are waste pipes for the toilets, there is an obvious cluster of these pipes in the areas of the main toilets just of the foyer space. You can also see the new corner of the building forming on seaward side of the site - partly creeping onto the coastal walk which will re-open when construction is completed.
As we near the end of the first phase of construction (the foundations and ground works), a phase that has one of the highest chances of nasty surprises given you can never be 100% sure what you are going to encounter underground. It's great to be able to report that apart from a few minor issues, all is progressing well and within budget.
We are now entering a period in which the majority of the work under the ground is completed and a building will soon start to rise on the firm foundations now in place. Exciting times. We hope to improve the webcam views in the next month.
