THE TASTE OF ADVENTURE

THE TASTE OF ADVENTURE

Working on a building site in cold months is tough. Especially when its an outside work. Feeling the weather on your body makes you think how important the design of the building envelope is. Waterproof boots, layers of under garments, gloves and hats can be easily compared to the measures we take to protect our buildings from harsh weather conditions; think waterproofing membranes, insulation, durable cladding materials. It is also the junctions between building elements that matter. Lacking air tightness can lead to problems with condensation and general moisture ingress that can damage building structure and finishes. So good detail and execution is paramount.

Despite all the hardships of battling the elements on site there is an occasional sense of adventure which I was reminded of this week when we were brewing coffee on a fire. It took me right back the memory lane, when reading books, as a teenager, about Wild West explorers and pioneers I was dreaming about adventure in some foreign land. Every now and then a story character would be spending a night in the wilderness and start the next morning with a pot of steamy coffee brewed on a camp fire. An adventurer’s breakfast feels appropriate for a building site because building is an adventure. It has its lows and highs and takes determination and perseverance to get to the end of the journey. So, when no land's left to be discovered and when our daily exploits are confined to browsing the web, a building project in some ways still offers real life excitement and a path to self-fulfilment.

---