May. 9th, 2005

xtineebee: (Default)
Last Thursday was a very exciting day - the 'Topping Off' ceremony for the new hospital being built by Kaiser out in Antioch, California. When I first joined Kaiser almost three years ago, one of my very first jobs was working on the final business case for why we needed to build this hospital. It was accepted by our Board of Directors and now we have this:

Steel!

It is just so exciting to see something *real* going up. As a strategic planner, a lot of my time is spent working on what *could* be. Seeing that become a solid building, a new hospital in a growing community, is extreemly exciting and rewarding. I wish I had a picture of the flat green field that this hospital started on, but we only just put up this web cam (I can literally watch the construction workers all day live) so I can get screen caps.

The 'Topping Off' ceremony was great fun. This is a party held (in modern times) when the major welding of the steel girders that make up the frame of the building has been completed. Take a look at the picture - see the cross beams that are yellow? Welcome to Californian architechture - those are basically high tech shock absorbers to ensure the building can ride out the earthquakes. Other than that, the steel frame is obvious. Topping Off is a tradition that has roots at the begining of civilization and as a history buff, I love a good tale. Theories on the origin of the ceremony:

Egypt - in 2700 BC when the step pyramid at Sakkara was completed a live plant was put on top of the structure to celebrate all who lost their lives during the construction. (Hmmm - never heard anything like this when at Sakkara, and it's not really a very Egyptian thing to do.)

Scaninavia - the Scandinavians revered evergreens. When they came home from a successful raid, the Vikings built huge mead halls and placed an evergreen on top, signalling a celebration was being held. (Sounds more plausible, but I think it is linked to the next one)

Celts - Earth religions held that every living thing has a life that is to be respected. When the Celts built their homes out of trees, when construction was completed a branch was placed on the roof as a home for the sprits from the trees used in the house so they would not be angry. (To me, this has the most credibility in terms of traditions)

Native Americans - According to some native beliefs, the spirit of a felled tree would stay in the structure it was used to build. Like the Celts, the Native Americans placed a branch on the roof to house the spirit. Also, many tribes felt that no man-made structure should be taller than anything in nature. When skyscrapers started appearing, the Natives working on the crews would put a tree on the very top of the structure so that it was the tallest point in the sky.

The modern USA Topping Off ceremonies came out of the great steel-building age in the 1930s and 1940s. An evergreen and an American flag are placed on the last steel beam placed on the top of the building to complete the infrastructure. It is a message from the ironworkers that the building is at its full height; the tree bringing luck and the flag sybolizing the American Dream.

The most important part of the day, however, was celebrating our crew who have worked through a really rough winter to keep this hosptial on track and on time.

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