How to build a Cathedral, part 14

It has been more than a year since I took any photos of Christ the Light Cathedral. I was lucky that while I was at work in Oakland Walt pointed out to me that the new organ was finally being delivered. I rushed out and was lucky to be able to see it arrive:

There was applause from the watchers as the organ was displayed.

Inside the cathedral scaffolding has been built to the platforms where the organ pipes will be installed:

The body of the cathedral is filled with the many organ pipes waiting to be installed. The wood is similar to the fir used for the main wooden structures of the cathedral.

There are many, many mysterious pieces of wood. It will take four months to put it all together.

The guts of the organ were slid to this side room:

Already in the side room was this cover which I am guessing fits over the top of the main box.

For more details on the new organ see this article.

How to build a Cathedral, part 13

At the North-East corner of the cathedral they are constructing a Healing Garden for Abuse Survivors. At the center of the garden will be a large piece of basalt, split into three pieces. How to acknowledge the scandal of sexual abuse by priests has been a delicate and contentious issue.

The area around the garden has been temporarily flooded to check the integrity of the concrete. Below you can see the plastic pieces in which the grass is being cultivated.

How to build a Cathedral, part 12

The cathedral is scheduled to open on 25 September 2008. Almost all the work being done now is on the interior. You can now walk up to the outside of the building. Here you can see a ramp up the front door, and a crucifix over the main entry.

How to build a Cathedral, part 11

Here we see the Omega window. In the picture above the rectangular pieces are all in place. Each piece has a straight diagonal line, but the way they are placed together creates an illusion of a curve. Below we see the window with one piece missing (at the top).

Below we see the Alpha window which now has some glass. The steps here will form the main entry to the cathedral.

How to build a Cathedral, part 10

They have started to put glass in to form the Omega window. It is plain green glass which matches exactly the colour of the office building I work in. In the original architect's drawings and on the cathedral's own web site the glass is shown as white. At present I don't understand why they chose this green colour. Another new feature is the spikes that have been added at the top of the sides. They look as though they are continuations of the metal framework but clearly they are an ornamental addition. Also new is the tempting ladder that ascends the side.

How to build a Cathedral, part 9

The glass wall on the east side (above) is complete. There are 36 x 10 = 360 glass panels on each of the long sides. The glass for the roof (below) is almost complete. There is still no glass for the Omega window.

The glass wall is less attractive than the internal wooden ribs that were previously visible. In some lighting you can still see the ribs but most of the time you cannot. The west side (below) does not give much to look at except the two different orientations of the panels.

How to build a Cathedral, part 8

This is the framework for the north window which will be called the Omega window. To the right you can see the roof area between the outside glass panels and the wood structure is made of green glass which is similar to that used at the sides, but without ceramic frit.

Two views from the Lake Merritt side.

How to build a Cathedral, part 7

The wooden structure is finished and they are starting to install the glass on the outside. The water in the background here is left over form a flooding that was deliberately done to test the roof of the underground car park.

So far all the glass sections have the same design, though there are two ways of positioning them as they are asymmetric. It is rather a pity that the wood is being covered up. Some people say the glass looks like shower stall doors. The glass is coated with ceramic frit to form a pattern.

How to build a Cathedral, part 6

The wood structure is now complete. Some glass panels have arrived at the site, so soon there will be glass as well as wood.

The workers are spending a lot of time at the top of the building. They are working on the metal rails that run along the outside of the top of the cathedral. They clip themselves to a line which runs parallel to the plank, and walk fearlessly across.

Here we can see the wood laminate skin that covers the structural support for the organ pipes. The skin provides structural support, so this is a monocoque structure.

How to build a Cathedral, part 5

This is a view from the opposite side. This will eventually be the main entrance to the cathedral. I work in the building on the left of the picture. When I took this I was standing by Lake Merritt.

A better view of the structural support for the organ pipes. This part was designed by Studio Under Manufacture of Oakland.

A view of the ceiling of the cathedral. Eventually the wooden platform will be removed and the ceiling will be an Oculus. Nearly all the 26 curved Douglas fir ribs are now in place.

How to build a Cathedral, part 4

The altar of the cathedral will be at the left side (as we look at it). On either side of the Altar will be the pipes of the organ. The pipes will also be visible from the outside, which is why there are no louvers at the bottom of the leftmost curved supports. The organ pipes will rest on platforms that act as sound canopies for the choir. In the picture you can see the beginnings of this platform.

Here we can see that there are now three of the straight (tangential) pieces we saw in part 3, and that they are joined together. I think that the rectangular spaces you can see will eventually be filled with glass.

How to build a Cathedral, part 3

Last time we saw the first appearance of the curved support structures. These are built by Western Wood Structures in Tualatin Oregon and trucked down to Oakland. Below you can see the first of the straight tangential pieces that will eventually form a sort of crown at the top of the cathedral.

Meanwhile more horizontal slats have been inserted.

One detail that has attracted attention is the copper piping that runs from the top to the bottom of the structure. Is this for air conditioning?

How to build a Cathedral, part 2

The scaffolding they were building in part 1 is there to support a wooden platform, on top of which is built a metal frame. I think this frame is also the roof of the cathedral. I think they used lasers to make sure the frame was supported at the correct height.

The curved wooden support beams are fabricated somewhere offsite and brought to Oakland. When they are put into place they have to fit exactly. The curved beams are attached to the metal frame.

One of the concerns of the architects was how hot the cathedral will be inside. Here we see the wooden slats that run between the curved beams. As you get higher the angle of the slats alters.

How to build a cathedral, part 1

The Cathedral of Christ the Light is being constructed right beside where I work in Oakland. Above you can see the crypt being built in March 2006.

The above picture shows what will be the ground floor as of April 2006. Below, in February 2007, the basic concrete structure is complete (I think). Above this there will be a soaring wood and glass top part. Next time we'll see why they are building that scaffolding in the middle.