Stonework (aka I've Got Rocks in My Head)

I've always loved working with stone. It's an honest material, rugged, strong and not manufactured in a laboratory or factory. It comes from the earth, and we only have to re-position it, not reconstitute it. It deserves to be seen, and demands to be appreciated.
 

 
The main focus of our project here, the  IT building itself, is constructed from steel and concrete. These materials are necessary, as we're in the centre of regular seismic activity, and must build to withstand mighty earthquakes. Our engineering specifications go way beyond what is normal for similarly sized structures in most other parts of the world. I often think that if a cataclysmic earthquake were to strike this area, ours would be the last building left standing.

But this project covers 5 acres of land, and around the building, apart from the sweeping tree-studded lawns and general softscape, will be internal roads, paths, external staircases, retaining walls and a magnificent huge water feature that runs the full width of the building's entrance....30 metres! All great opportunities to incorporate stonework.

This is where the water feature will go, between the pine tree and the building...

So let's dig a hole and start it!

Give it a bit of shape...

Find some suitable rocks...

And let the work begin!

And while the water feature construction continues, we have another team working on a curved entrance road around it, which also acts as a retaining wall for the road above...

And also the staircase coming down from the top car park, through and under the security room...

This soil will be replaced with better quality stuff, then levelled and planted with grass and a few flowering Japanese Cherry Blossom trees and small magnolias...

 But not to forget the water feature, where work continues....

 

The actual fountain will be in the centre one third of the structure (10 metres wide), and there will be a 10 metre garden on either side of it. These will be grassed and have native clematis planted at the edges, to overhang the stone walls. I'll be planting specimen trees in there too, but haven't decided which ones yet...

These concrete Hume pipes (an Aussie invention!), will encase the incoming fibre-optic data cables, the arteries to the heart of any IT Park!

And finally, this is where we're up to today...still plenty of work to do, but it'll be worth the effort when it's completed!

Update to a few months later...

Picnic in Dochula

Had a rare day off on Sunday, and travelled with my Indian family (Ganesh, Rita and their son, Ritesh), with a new colleague, Vikram, to beautiful Dochula, a village only 45 minutes' drive from our home in Babesa, near Thimphu (the capital).
Dochula is most famous for its 108 chhortens.


THIS is a chhorten....a religious icon that sometimes contains prayer wheels.

And THIS is 108 chhortens...

 We needed to get permits to visit, and show them at a checkpoint to enter this sacred place. Strangely, I drove through this same checkpoint a year ago on the way to order windows for our new building, and don't remember stopping. But I do remember the guards waving at us very enthusiastically as we went past them. At least I THOUGHT they were waving...

Spent some time looking around the area, before moving on to the  Lamperi Royal Botanical Gardens...officially opened by a different Queen Mother from the one who  inaugurated our IT Park back in November.

I think our plaque is better than theirs. And so it should be, for what it cost us!

After a delicious lunch of chicken biryani, washed down with a cheeky South African shiraz, it was time for a gentle rest before strolling  through the gardens.


VIKRAM, RITA and GANESH...and RITESH's arm. That tent in the background on the left is made from yak's hair. I also ate a couple of yak cheese cubes. Hard as rock, and lasted for hours, unfortunately...

At the entrance, we'd seen a display of some of the animals we might encounter on our tour....

But unfortunately, we only came across the ubiquitous Bhutanese dogs. And there was no way we were going to get lost in these gardens.

As it's still winter here, there were few floral displays to enjoy...


 Native Daphne...sweet perfume!

But I've always been a tree man, myself. And there were plenty of those!

And the day wouldn't be complete without a magnificent example of the national tree, the Bhutan Cypress.

And yes, of course there was water around....

And some interesting little stuff I couldn't identify....

Time then, to head home. On the way, we stopped to admire an old dzong (fortress) in the hills.

And as most Indians haven't seen too much of the white stuff, I took time out to explain the difference between snow and ice to Ganesh...

And so ended our delightful day discovering Dochula.