“It is Finished”
Through countless hours of brainstorming, researching, designing, constructing and furnishing, the Dragonspine Water Lift is completed at last. Congratulatory efforts must be given to Chris Logan who completed a vast majority of the design and construction process single handedly. A few problems were encountered along the way, such as the water lift not being able to complete a full revolution when it was first constructed, but they were quickly overcome and the finished product is, as far as we know, free from any errors.
Featured above and below are close up pictures of where the gear forces the chain along its circulatory course. Each chain link is 2 inches long to give you an idea of the scale of the model. 44 of these intricate links were cut and crafted by gluing three separate pieces of mahogany plywood together and then expertly sanded so each notch could accommodate the gear paddles. The chain link once constructed was by far the most detailed part of the water lift and carried the greatest sense of achievement.
Once constructed, sanded and stained, the water lift was able to successfully carry water through the bottom channel and out the opposite side. Below is Chris Logan demonstrating how the water lift moves. The water lift had yet to be stained in the video below.
watch?v=2aLSLYBXjco&list=LL6iqP_hgkBhD2BWIsJ6KQ-A&feature=mh_lolz
The Learned and the Discovered
Throughout the process of completing the waterlift, we learned the hard way that ideas do not always translate perfectly from paper to a working model. When our written design of a chain link was 3D printed, several errors were found with the piece that otherwise would have gone unnoticed on paper. While the project is aimed to leave an impression on the school children of today, it did not fail to leave a lasting impression on us. After manually making only a scale model of this water lift we can only have a feeling of admiration for the Chinese who regularly built full size water lifts, and without the use of the several woodworking machines we have easy access to today
The Sun Yat Sen Garden Community: Our Contribution
Through regular showcase of the water lift, the miniature replica aims to teach the younger generation how an ancient Chinese water lift would operate, with the ultimate goal of drawing their interest to Chinese culture. We hope that the water lift will expand the interests of future generations in order to help create a greater appreciation of differing cultures.
After everything has been said and done, the water lift stands tall, completed, and looking as beautiful as it should. We’d Like to thank the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Garden for this fantastic opportunity and we hope the water lift serves your community well. Below is a picture of the entire water lift in all its glory as well as a picture of the poster used in the Civil 202 class poster session.
The Poster
Dear Team,
Congratulations on doing an OUTSTANDING job on this challenging project. From your blog and our f2f conversations, I can see that you have learned about several aspects of civil engineering project management and civil engineering decision-making. These include:
– a greater appreciation for the multiple criteria involved in making design decisions (e.g., your material decision (mahogany vs teak).
– the iterative nature of the design process
– the usefulness of modelling
– the difficulties involved in estimating (Did your initial estimates turn out to be accurate?)
– the influence of project context (i.e., the social, economic, and environmental context) on team motivation, design criteria, access to resources, etc.
– the influence of teamwork on completing the task
– the importance of relationship building with the client and with supporting personnel
I wonder if you are better able to imagine the complexity of completing a multi-year civil engineering construction project! Also, can you imagine trying to incorporate an understanding of the entire life-cycle of civil engineering projects (i.e. the end-of-life stage of the project) as part of the design of the project? How might a large civil engineering project CONTRIBUTE to the function of an urban ecosystem, in addition to meeting other design criteria? These are issues you will be asked to consider in your 4th year capstone design project.
Thank you for your commitment to this project and to the client. I understand the challenges and the effort you have made (e.g., taking the work home, enlisting help from your personal network, building a relationship with UBC’s School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture).
Sincerely,
Susan Nesbit