I have a new jobsite, my second so far.
The project I have here is new to me. All my previous job assignments were mostly new construction whether it is building, road, or housing development. But here we are doing building upgrading works.
Its going to be a challenge since the place is in hilly location and everywhere you turn there is a garden spot with gazebo. Compared to my first job location which is in relatively flat terrain where navigating from one building to another is a walk in the park, this new location has a lot of steps to climb between buildings. But this is no longer new to me.
In many projects that I have involved in, I have favorites. A certain job assignment becomes favorite because of the project itself or due to the location of the project. The Taipan Place is a favorite because it was my first high rise project and it is in the city just like the Picadilly Star building in the Fort area which I left abruptly for Singapore. The subdivision development in Tagaytay is not one of them but working in Tagaytay is. But the project I involved in in Malaysia where we cut the tip of two mountains in the middle of the jungle to built a colmar village and a castle for a mountain resort is the opposite of the case in Tagaytay. Going to work in the middle of the jungle at first was okay but not for months. Palau, Libya, Saudi Arabia projects were a bit regrettable.
The project I have involved in in Boracay was so far my favorite project and assignment-wise. Who would not like to be assigned in Boracay? Though it was difficult and a very challenging project, it was a rewarding one. Why not, two working days off monthly with a return ticket back to Manila, a weekend diving, nightly stroll with occasional drink in the beach were more than enough to say it is a dream job. The project is a 13 hectare high end resort development. The project team involved where big names in the industry. The company I worked with is the one who designed the iconic Bird's Nest and the Sydney Opera House to name two. What makes this project challenging was the ever changing of design while construction was on-going. Resizing of floor area, layout changing while the sub-structure work was on-going. There was one building block which was twisted out, though the foundation was already in placed,just because it was not in correct orientation of the seaview. Everybody who were involved in the project were having a hard time. Due to complexity of the project, the working drawings have to done as the construction progresses. I pity my colleagues in office who were to endure sleepless nights for the project. How could they not be, when the owner decides to do revision, architects had to succumb and so us engineers and the rest of the project team. Most of the structural works was in placed when I left the project abruptly, which I have no regrets. The story behind it? No! I don't want to dwell on. Words will not be appropriate in this blog.
The target opening of the project was in October last year, and later move to December but I learned from their website that it will be scheduled to open on March 2. I don't think all the facilities will be ready by then.
