This week Matthew P. Hoelzli (the person I interviewed) invited me to a building under construction that he designed. The building was in Queens so me and my dad drove near the building and met him across the street. He already emailed us to wear work boots so we bought them online, and he gave us each a hard hat.

The tour started below ground. He told us about the building, which had restaurants, seven theaters, including one 4D theater, hotels, a shopping center, a huge pool, residential space, and to top it off a sky light! He also told me about the two separate underground garages. One for people going inside to eat or going to movies, and one for people who live there.Be honest, would you want people in a hurry going to movies, and possibly hitting your car in the same garage as you. I wouldn’t! I think that was a clever idea. He also told me how this would be the hangout place in the area, and how there would be swim tournaments in the pool because it’s so big!

To top it off he even let me ride the work elevator to the top floor! The building was right next to city field. The Mets were playing, and I had a perfect view!

Over all the trip to the building was really fun, I learned a lot of new things such as, you have to put fireproof  minerals around steel so it wont rust in fires. I also learned that to make building thirteen stories tall near an airport, such as this building you have to get an FAA approval.

Over all the trip to the construction site will be an experience I will never forget.

After crafting main and sub questions, I needed to interview an expert on my topic. My topic is about skyscrapers so I needed to inter view an architect or structural engineer. My moms friend from college is a mechanical engineer. That’s not what I wanted but she knew some architects who could help me out. The architect that I ended up interviewing’s name was Mathew Hoelzli. The architecture firm was in New York City so I went there and  knocked on the door to the firm. They happily opened up but Mathew Hoelzli was in a meeting, but right when he saw me he stopped and invited me to interview him. I sent him an email that I was coming so he expected me. I asked him questions such as, What are some buildings that you have worked on, and What role does the architect play in making a building? If you want to see all of my questions, look below.

What role does the architect play in making a building?

How has the interesting structure of the Taipei 101 affect how it is earthquake proof?

What are some buildings that you have worked on?

How long does it take to make a building (How long does it take to make a floor)?

How have skyscraper windows evolved?

What machines are needed to build skyscrapers?

What is the favorite part about your job?

How many workers are needed to build a skyscraper?

How has the curtain wall design changed to make buildings more attractive?

What are some differences between a structural engineer and an architect.

The interview went well! He happily answered all the questions I asked him. And even better he invited me to a construction site on Thursday! It was perfect because it was a group of 4 buildings connected, and some of them were close to completion and some of them just started.

Capstone has been a success so far and I think I will continue to do well.