Glass in!
What a difference it makes to have the Commons/atrium fully enclosed by glass! From the street level it is immediately apparent that there will be an ongoing connectivity of building-to-street due to the reflectivity of the glass during the day. At night the building should be transparent, with indirect lighting highlighting the historic exterior wall, which will now be an interior feature wall. The stair base has been formed and poured, and will have a terrazzo surface, as will the stair treads and the atrium, hallways and bathroom floors. Standing in the atrium, it feels larger than it had appeared in earlier months because of the glass enclosure. There are wonderful views of the neighborhood to the east and south from the space. The best view in the house, though will be from the mezzanine, which is the second-story overhang. It is now open to the second floor, and it gives the second floor, which did not undergo as much renovation as the first, a spacious and modern feel.
Interior Sheetrock is in; beginning next Monday the walls and ceilings will be taped. Terrazzo floors are being poured starting today, in the bathroom and hallway areas of the first floor. The terrazzo process is fairly lengthy compared with other flooring applications, and the floors will need to cure over a period of time before they go through the final grinding and polishing which exposes the stone in the matrix.
The new library doors on the Washington Street side were installed yesterday. This, more than anything so far, makes me feel like the library building is really coming together.