Went up to Oklahoma City yesterday, funeral, but I noticed the view of the building from the Little Flowers Church (12th and S. Walker) is going to be fabulous when this is done! Sort of looks over the new highway at the skyline, I need to go back w/ a camera and see how that pans out.

Looks like they set up another crane.

I would have thought it would have been used to build out the rotunda, but perhaps the crane used to dismantle the tower crane will be used for that?

I don't think crane 3 had the capacity to lift the rotunda steel at that range and its boom would have got in the way of the crawler crane and the boom of crane 1, so they just went ahead and took it down. That's my guess anyway.

If they take down tower crane 1 this weekend, it would have me wondering why they bothered to put those two cranes up in the first place.

They are dismantling the western-most tower crane right now.

I wonder what they did with the concrete pump at the top of the building?

Yep, was noticing that myself.

I wonder what they did with the concrete pump at the top of the building?
Nevermind...it's up there....just folded up or out of sight

Must have been an illusion. Looked like the crawler crane had a piece of the tower crane suspended. But I guess the tower crane is still standing?

I'm Just thinking about how BIG this tower will truly be and we still have about 600ft and 35 more stories to go and it's already making an impact on our skyline with 250ft and 15 stories!This tower is gonna be a Monster!

Must have been an illusion. Looked like the crawler crane had a piece of the tower crane suspended. But I guess the tower crane is still standing?

They added pieces to the tower crane's boom. It can now reach all of the western site now.

I'm Just thinking about how BIG this tower will truly be and we still have about 600ft and 35 more stories to go and it's already making an impact on our skyline with 250ft and 15 stories!This tower is gonna be a Monster!

I still find it amazing that 15 stories is 250 ft. It shows you how much more floor to floor height is needed for all of the above ceiling systems (HVAC, electrical, plumbing, fire suppression, communications, ethernet, etc.).

I was curious on the windows. Do they lift large sections (pre-built) in at a time, or build a frame in place then set glass into frame? Many scenarios are running through my mind. Have not seen a picture of glass going on.......hint, hint.

Overheard their morning meeting (the english version) they have every day.

- The buck hoist will be operational to the 13th floor by the end of the day today.

- Crawler Crane will be moved over to the east closer to the tower and will start work on the Rotunda beginning next week.

buck hoist = construction elevator??

buck hoist = construction elevator??

You are correct!

I believe I saw the hoist going up and down yesterday, it really gets to moving fast, like an express elevator. Not sure if it was going to the 13th floor or not.

Any word yet on the reality of an actual named 13th floor?

I was curious on the windows. Do they lift large sections (pre-built) in at a time, or build a frame in place then set glass into frame? Many scenarios are running through my mind. Have not seen a picture of glass going on.......hint, hint.

Mike - Yes, they are premade panels that are loaded onto each floor in bulk and then they are lifted into place individually with the tower cranes. They showed pictures of how they do it in the lobby of the current building about a month ago. The panels are maybe 4 to 5 feet wide and then vary in height based on which floor they are working on.

Here's a photo (sorry for the poor quality) of the emerging skyline from near Baptist Hospital taken on 10/18/10.

I really like the way all the buildings line up from this angle... Imagine Devon Tower way taller than even Chase!

http://www.tnttri.com/OKCTalk/101810a.jpg

I took this yesterday around 5.

http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac263/ndmoore84/Devon%20Tower/3ddea6ed.jpg

^^^Where is that crawler crane loading/unloading at? The Crystal Bridge??

In regard to the window installation, to me, they look too big to be shipped to each floor via the buck hoist (look at the doorways with the numbering on them, in the picture above. They're too small to host those glass panels). Therefore, I would have to imagine that they're being lifted into place via Crane #1 from ground level. The installation is moving pretty fast considering.

Also, I wonder why they're leaving that gap on the north face of the building on the 7th floor level. I can understand the gap the level below for access to the roof of the Podium Building. Last but not least, I assume they will glass the northwest inlet of the 8th floor this time around as it is not connected to the yet to be built Rotunda. Any concrete evidence or understanding would be appreciated so thanks in advance!

PS, ndmoore, you need to post that pic on one of the national sites. Very nice pic!

If you look closely at the pic that gap you mention is where the construction elevator is

I know that. What's your point??

OKCisOK4me,

The glass panels are not delivered via the construction elevators, but rather they are delivered on pallets via the Tower crane to the floors on the material landings that they have positioned around the tower. You can see them extending beyond the tower and are supported with re-shoring to resist the overturning forces caused by the materials being picked and set by the cranes.

Also, I wonder why they're leaving that gap on the north face of the building on the 7th floor level. I can understand the gap the level below for access to the roof of the Podium Building.

My guess is that they either can't install the panel above or its too much of a pain to install until the panel below is put in.

OKCisOK4me,

The glass panels are not delivered via the construction elevators, but rather they are delivered on pallets via the Tower crane to the floors on the material landings that they have positioned around the towers. You can see them extending beyond the tower and are supported with Re shoring to resist the overturning forces caused by the materials being picked and set by the cranes.

Thank you for responding with an intelligent answer. I forgot about those pads that are placed in different positions around the tower like a spiral staircase. That makes much more sense! Again, thanks!

My guess is that they either can't install the panel above or its too much of a pain to install until the panel below is put in.

I guess that means that every floor is going to be like that then (me sad)...

I saw the panels get loaded on the floors from the elevator on saturday

A majority of the glass panels are not installed by the tower cranes. There is actually a small crane on the floor above the floor they are installing that reaches over to the floor below and picks up the glass and installs it. This make installation quicker and frees up the tower cranes. So technically this is why there are going to be gaps going up the building for now, they NEED that floor above for the small crane.

I think once the podium stairwell (Northeast side) is complete then the podium will be glassed in. Also once the Rotunda is complete that will be glassed in and they will be able to fill in some of the gaps that you see missing in some of the photos.

All of the buildings are connected, so they have to wait for some of the construction to be completed on the podium or Rotunda before they can glass in some of the Tower.

Also, they have been putting in the cable supports for the cable-net curtain wall on the first floor.

I must say, they're really kicking butt lately. Rebar for the next floor's columns is already going up. They seem to be whipping through a floor every 6 days or so.

thats good if they are, dedndcrusr some types of construction they are able to do a floor a day.

This is from about a month ago but shows how they install the glass. Hopefully you won't have any trouble pulling up the PDF.

https://cid-f2663241bcab1800.office.live.com/self.aspx/.Documents/ConstructionUpdate092310.pdf

I couldn't pull it up...

try it now. i guess permissions had it locked down. it should be open to the public now.

try it now. i guess permissions had it locked down. it should be open to the public now.

That's pretty cool. Thanks! Will you be able to post more of them? Like more current?

That's pretty cool. Thanks! Will you be able to post more of them? Like more current?

Please post all of them!

From that PDF:


Panels in the tower’s indented notches feature vertical LED lighting elements that will illuminate at night upon the project’s completion.

This makes it sound like only the parts of the tower that are indented will be illuminated, not all the metal fins as previously surmised.

From that PDF:



This makes it sound like only the parts of the tower that are indented will be illuminated, not all the metal fins as previously surmised.

The guy that works for the company that is handling the safety aspect of the installation of the glass panels said all the fins had fiber optics in them. Only time will tell, though...

I have kind of an odd question...

Does anyone know what the life expectancy of this tower is going to be provided proper maintenance? 100 years? 200 years?

I have kind of an odd question...

Does anyone know what the life expectancy of this tower is going to be provided proper maintenance? 100 years? 200 years?

200 years?really?

I have kind of an odd question...

Does anyone know what the life expectancy of this tower is going to be provided proper maintenance? 100 years? 200 years?

With all the more constant shaking and extreme weather, it is impossible to reach 200 years, unless God bless this state with a miracle.

You may want to begin your prayer tonight and every night for the rest of your life with, "Heavenly father, I ask of you to watch over the Devon Tower to ensure the strength for it to continue on toward the 200 years anniversary. Many men and women worked through endless sweat to build this magnificent building for your children to enjoy. I ask of you to not let it all go to waste. Amen." Who knows, considering it a bible-belt-state, it just may be answered. :-)

I have no idea? Just asking.

200 years?really?

The colcord hotel is already 100 years old. I don't see why a building as robust as the devon tower wouldn't be able to last 200.

well we'll see!ohh wait now won't!

You'd have to watch "Life After People" to get those answers.

Buildings built with a lot less high-tech have been around for centuries... ;). (Westminster Abbey, Vatican, etc...)

200 is not a laughable answer at all.

The colcord hotel is already 100 years old. I don't see why a building as robust as the devon tower wouldn't be able to last 200.


Buildings built with a lot less high-tech have been around for centuries... ;). (Westminster Abbey, Vatican, etc...)


These are right. We do have very old buildings all around. But Devon is in a risky location with constant threat of tornadoes. We can only wait to see how well the tower will fare.

These are right. We do have very old buildings all around. But Devon is in a risky location with constant threat of tornadoes. We can only wait to see how well the tower will fare.

You can't say that Devon is in a risky location if First National Tower, City Place and Chase Tower have already been around for decades with zero damage for tornadoes. Look at Dallas, TX. Their location is just as risky. If Dallasites think they are not in tornado alley (and some do) they have their heads in the sand.

I'm not saying it won't happen, but you can't burden yourself with such a worry, especially since we are not the only city threatened by severe weather. Salt Lake City, Altnata and Fort Worth weren't so lucky.

Well, First National Center is now about 80 years old, and I don't see it fall down or being raazed any time soon. To suggest that a tornado could destroy Devon Towr is a bit silly. A tornado could do a lot of damage, mostly broken widdows (as happened in Fort Worth a few years ago), but knock the building down? I think not.

The Seattle Kingdome was built to last 2,000 years. It lasted 23 years.

The Seattle Kingdome was built to last 2,000 years. It lasted 23 years.

I don't think you can compare stadiums and Arenas to office space in a skyscraper - the reason arenas and stadiums are replaced seems to be more for capacity and services, not necessarily because they are falling down - plus you'd have to say the construction and use is way different.

The real question is how long people are willing to care for Devon Tower and not demolish it. A concrete structure should be able to easily last 150+ years.

What happened to the netting on the east half of the building?

A few more floors and we will not be able to see the cores anymore.

What would really be neat is a camera like I have seen on some skiing websites where they let people take control of zooming and direction for 30 seconds to a minute!

These are right. We do have very old buildings all around. But Devon is in a risky location with constant threat of tornadoes. We can only wait to see how well the tower will fare.

Something tells me that those buildings I have mentioned (and many more that we could mention) have seen their fair share of 'weather' anomalies, war, earthquakes and pestilence... obviously there are limits to what any building could endure ;).

These are right. We do have very old buildings all around. But Devon is in a risky location with constant threat of tornadoes. We can only wait to see how well the tower will fare.

Thunder with another 3rd grade suggestion. Has a tall downtown tower ever been taken out by a tornado? Ever?

The only skyscraper ever hit by an F5 tornado is still standing and in use.

http://tripatlas.com/Lubbock_Tornado

By definition a skyscraper is at least 500 ft tall!So by definition OKC only has 1 skyscraper until The new Devon tower reaches 500 ft,then OKC will have two!on the other hand Tulsa has 4 towers over 500 ft!

Can we get back to the subject at hand and not speculate?! I asked a question earlier which clearly got overlooked because everyone is actually feeding Thunder responses to second grade questions...

My question earlier and it's still relevant today cause nothing has changed is...

WHY IS THERE NO NETTING ON THE EASTERN HALF OF THE BUILDING between the 12th and 13th floors?

Thanks..