On Tuesday, Oct. 3, Shady Side Academy Senior School students in Mrs. Cari Batchelar's Architecture class had the opportunity to take a hard-hat tour of the construction site for the new McIlroy Center for Science and Innovation on campus. The tour was led by project superintendent Ron Sherman of PJ Dick and SSA Director of Facilities Paul Francioni.

Students had the chance to ask Sherman and Francioni lots of design and construction questions related to what they are learning in class. They asked about green design features and what makes the building qualify for Gold LEED status. They asked how spray sound proofing works and got to see that being mixed. They went up to the roof to see how rainwater will be collected and distributed through the building. They asked about the structural aspects of the space and how classroom size, setup and traffic flow were determined. They were interested in seeing the building before the walls were closed in, so they could examine the structural framework and the wiring and plumbing. They also asked how the work of various contractors is coordinated to make the most efficient use of time, and whether the construction is on schedule. (It is!)

Watch a video of the construction tour, including a time-lapse video of construction progress to date below:

View the McIlroy Center's live construction webcam!