Week 26, 2026 – First concrete poured
Monday: a lone worker crouches in the pit, shovel in hand, clearing sand by hand around the base of the concrete pile stumps. The wooden hoarding fence and orange safety netting stand just behind him, yellow-capped rebar cages line up in the middle distance. This careful manual preparation around each stump is the last step before the formwork for the pile caps can go in.
Wednesday is pour day. A large mobile crane is positioned at the edge of the site, its long white-and-blue boom arcing across the clear blue sky above the Circulus apartment blocks. The crane is pouring concrete — the first structural concrete of the build. From the street the project sign hangs on the yellow fencing while the hook wire drops into the pit. With temperatures hitting 36 °C the crew are working in full sun — hard going on an open sand pit with nowhere to hide.
Looking into the pit you can see the operation in full swing. Timber formwork planks are stacked and staged around the pile caps, the blue dewatering pump “Schijf WP 133” still keeps the pit dry in the foreground, and workers and machines fill the far end. Concrete is being poured today — a milestone after weeks of drilling, cropping and preparation.
Thursday — the day after the first pour. A total station on its tripod takes centre-stage in the foreground, the crew checking elevations and positions while the concrete sets overnight. A compact yellow excavator idles on the far side of the pit as workers continue clearing around the yellow-capped rebar stubs. The dark brick apartment blocks of the neighbouring street frame the whole scene: the new Circulus building will one day match their scale.
