This week, a special milestone was reached in our Fiona Re-development Project and we held a Topping Out Ceremony to mark the occasion.
The structural completion of the new Fiona Hall was reached; we are delighted to be at this point in our reimagining of the Junior School at Ascham. An Indigenous potted Syzygium floribundum (weeping lilli pilli), which will feature in the new landscaping, was brought up to the roof with Ascham students and staff, as well as team members responsible for the build: Rohrig Construction, EPM Projects and BVN Architecture.
Topping out is an interesting tradition with Nordic origins. According to Wikipedia, ‘in building construction, topping out is a builders’ rite traditionally held when the last beam (or its equivalent) is placed atop a structure during its construction. The practice of topping out a new building can be traced to the ancient Scandinavian religious rite of placing a tree atop a new building to appease the tree-dwelling spirits displaced in its construction. The tradition also served a functional purpose: a pine tree was used, and after the needles had fallen off the tree, the builders knew the wood frame below had cured/dried out so they could enclose the building.’
With the structure of the Fiona Hall now complete, the project is on track and our School community is set to enjoy the first of the new spaces by early next year.
