Dear Friends,
Amazing news from Ishwar’s dera in Wisconsin! The concrete and steel foundation for the Meeting Hall has been completed! This is a major milestone in the volunteer effort to honor Ishwar’s request to help him build a large hall as a tribute to Great Master Baba Sawan Singh.
Last fall, our general contractor completed the foundation wall that encircles the 17,000 square foot building. This summer, he has poured the concrete for the footings and piers that will hold up the steel skeleton of the hall.
The building will be supported by 34 vertical metal columns. The columns hold up the entire weight of the building, so each column will rest on a large concrete and steel base. Each base consists of a wide footing and a pier. The construction process consisted of precisely locating the position of each column, then digging 34 large holes, then building 34 forms for holding the concrete, then fabricating and installing a latticework of steel rebar for each of the forms, and then filling each form with concrete.
Next, work on the hill will slow down as the final architectural work is completed over the next month or so. At that point, the entire detailed plan for the Meeting Hall will be complete, and planning can begin on the next phase of construction.
Here are some photos of this last stage of foundation work.
The pumper truck and the cement trucks arrive at the dera on a lovely July day.
Each of the 34 holes contains a wooden form for containing the concrete for the footings.
The forms are filled with concrete.
The concrete is smoothed and finished by hand, and the concrete is allowed to dry.
The locations of the 34 piers are then precisely marked by using a laser surveyor.
Then, rectangular forms for the piers are built and precisely installed on top of each of the large footings.
Steel rebar is installed in each pier form, and then the dirt is backfilled around each pier form.
Concrete is pumped into each of the pier forms.
The end result is 34 concrete and steel piers that rise to just above the ground level. Eventually, the steel structure of the building will rest on top of these piers.
Workers also formed up the concrete walls that will hold up the front door area of the building.
And then filled them with concrete.
And finally, the entire construction site is cleaned up and the dirt is smoothed out, ready for the next phase of the project.
From the air, the shape of the Meeting Hall emerges from the construction site.
If you’d like to see the construction site, and take a special group guided tour of the Meeting Hall, please join us at the dera for the Fall Prashad Garden Harvest on Friday, September 15 to Monday, September 18. In addition, all are always welcome to attend “Open Seva” at any time between now and November 1.
Any questions related to Ishwar’s dera can be directed to Jagannath Kerai’s email at chairman@ishanews.org
With warmest regards,
Paul Bauer
ISHA Dera Building Committee
