Hi’ilani

Since November, the Tridipanel team has been erecting the structure of the house with the SCIP panels. They began with the eastern side, building scaffolding to support the first roof until concrete supports are poured. Rebar embedded into the foundation extends into the SCIP panel walls to give extra strength. The panel connections are also reinforced with additional metal mesh. When the concrete skin is added inside and out, the entire building: roof, walls and foundation, will be solidly integrated, creating a building that will withstand earthquakes and strong winds.

In support walls, space for concrete support “columns” is burned or cut out of the panels, and rebar and reinforcing mesh is added. Forms are then built into which concrete will be poured to form the column. Once the support system is poured and in place, the scaffolding can be moved to other areas and reused. Eventually all the wood will be re-purposed, including the creation of built-in furniture for the interior.

Currently, you can see that one roof and walls are up on nearly half of the house and the scaffolding is in place for the largest roof, which will cover the living room, dining room and kitchen.