My days are generally kicked off with an exciting 5:00am alarm and breakfast (peanut butter on toast, orange juice and cornflakes). At 5:45am, the bus picks up the team to go to the construction site. Luckily it is a scenic drive brightening up the morning before the 7am start on site. There is the Burj Khalifa and the city skyline, an incredible construction site of what appears to be a new mall with literally 20+ cranes set up and then the peaceful desert, sunrise and sand dunes. I have a newfound respect for the Desert and thoroughly enjoy the bus ride to the site, especially when we reach the winding road filled with sand dunes on either side with the sun slowly rising in the west.

During construction, the crane was only available for a limited time. We had to prioritize installing and painting cladding so then the second skin walls could be installed. The moment of truth finally came and the team gathered around the second skin wall crates to begin unpacking and setting up the very first panel to be lifted and installed on the house. The anxiety and emotions were running high. As we had never set up the second skin wall, I was a bit unsure on how to begin but with the help of our skilled carpenters turned engineers (Craig and Mark), we were able to set up the walls supporting piers and channel very quickly. The first wall panel was lifted and placed within the supporting channel where we hurriedly bolted together the first panel to the house. The first panel went in very smoothly and we continued on from there. After Saturday night, 6 panels had been installed. The next day was our final day with the crane and the pressure was on to get the remaining 19 installed before the end of the day.

The final wall panel had to be problematic of course (right when we invited the team around to witness the installation of the last one). Like most things in this project, nothing came easy but with some persistence and hard work, we managed to fit the panel perfectly and the relief when it finally fit was huge. The long day was capped off with a special gift for me where my team had spray painted a bright pink nut and washer to tighten up the last bolt to finish off the second skin wall (thanks team <3). After this, we walked outside the site for a better view of the whole wall and stood together to appreciate the massive achievement we had accomplished by designing, manufacturing, shipping and finally installing the second skin wall on the house. We had achieved what many believed to be an impossible task.

People would always pass on praise and congratulations at major milestones in the manufacturing of the second skin wall crate. I tried not to be complacent, as I believed the goal wasn’t achieved until the wall was on the house and ready for display in Dubai for the competition. After achieving this goal, the drive home that night was memorable as it was the first time in a long time I had truly felt relaxed and calm with a big smile on my face knowing our house is ready to rock this competition.

– Ross Prandalos, Construction Manager and Site Operations Coordinator