We began the morning by placing shim plates and jacks onto the site. Afterwards, we had to wait until our truck arrived with the steel dunnage. The truck took a little longer than expected, but when it arrived, we were able to finish the dunnage system! The space frame was simultaneously set up. Later that evening, we watched as both halves of the pod arrived in Washington D.C.
The next morning the crane came, and we excitedly unwrapped each half. The crane lifted each half onto the steel dunnage. Afterwards, the crane lifted the space frame onto the pod. We all clapped and cheered because the three layers of our pod had now come together.
Other teams came up to us and told us how cool the pod looked, and how innovative and unique the steel structural system and the space frame were. It’s been exciting to see how the other homes are coming along. Massachusetts is next to us, and Caltech is across from us, and it has been an experience to see the two neighboring teams working at different paces, and in different methods.
Unfortunately, there was some interior damage in the pod- cracks in drywall and cabinetry- but it was nothing that could not be fixed. The team morale stayed high the entire day. Temperatures dropped and rain hit Washington DC but we kept on going. The engineering students connected all the junction boxes inside, and underneath the house, the fire pumps were installed. Earlier, the engineering students had also connected the micro-inverters to the space frame.
Landscape modules also arrived, and we began the process of placing them within the steel dunnage. It has been a hectic two days, but we know it will pay off. We know we are Team New York- the youngest, most diverse, and most vibrant team out there! Lets go Team New York!
