Don and Ruth Taylor pour the final bucket of concrete to top off the Taylor Family Digital Library. / Photos: Ken Bendiktsen

June 18, 2009

Topping-off celebrations

Construction of the Taylor Family Digital Library on the U of C campus briefly stopped on Thursday, June 18 for a topping-off celebration now that the structure has reached its highest level.

With a completion date of fall, 2010, most of the work on the new facility will now switch to enclosing the building and completing the interiors.

“The topping-off represents a significant milestone in the development of this unique and extremely significant project,” said Tom Hickerson, vice-provost (Libraries and Cultural Resources). “The university has moved one step closer in achieving its goal of establishing a landmark information, learning and research facility.”

Don and Ruth Taylor scratch their initials into the final concrete slab at the top of the TFDL.

Don and Ruth Taylor, who have donated $25-million to the project, attended the celebrations and signed their names into the last load of wet concrete poured for the building. University representatives included President Harvey Weingarten, Alan Harrison, vice-president (academic) and Bob Ellard, vice-president (facilities management and development).
 
The project, including building a new High Density Library at Spy Hill in Calgary’s northwest corner, will cost about $200 million.

The next visible phases of construction will be the installation of the plus-15 structure between the MacKimmie Link and the new building and the erection of steel on the west side that will form the two-storey Learning Commons area.