The Pyramid Project

Phase 1

Phase 1 Objective: “Position the Ankh"
By March 2008 (3 months)

“Phase 1 Objectives Discussed"

·   The Ankh is the ancient Egyptian symbol of Life and is the emblem of this project. It is hoped that the project will enrich and empower the lives of many people to come. The project is a celebration of life

·   By suspending an Ankh 24.44m up in the air on top of the main iron and hardwood structure the project demonstrates it’s scale, location and intention. The project becomes visible and promotion becomes easier

·   During the 2 years of construction at least one person will always be living in the temporary shelter and basic tools will be secured onsite

·   The project generates no income in the first two phases however donations from the web site promotion will fund development. All donations will be offset against any future holidays the donator may wish to take on the pyramid.  The finances of the business are completely open to public scrutiny and it is hoped investors will see that this project can return excellent value in an ethical and worthy cause in a growing market we term “spiritual tourism”.  Because of the “good living” health associations and excellent long-term humanitarian objectives, this project provides a perfect partnership opportunity for corporate sponsors

"Phase 1 Task Summary"
(Excluding Costs) 

"Phase 1 Task Details"

1.1             Four Anchors

·        Four anchors are too be made and then dropped 10m diagonally from each corner

·        These dead weight anchors are made of stone, concrete, reinforced with steel and Masaranduba off-cuts of aprox 0.15m diameter

·        Each anchor has four Masaranduba 4m long logs that splay outwards diagonally (and down) into the clay and one log which is 5m long and drops vertically into the clay

·        The anchors are expected to sink into the clay providing not just dead weight but also tremendous friction

·        Adjustable ropes with attached floats will mark the anchor locations and be an indicator of changing water levels

·        As the project progresses it may be necessary to add more weight to the anchors

1.2            Temporary Topa Platform

·        Temporary Topa (4m)² working platforms (rafts) to be constructed. Topa is a kind of balsa wood with a low relative density of 0.303

·        Each raft contains 22 x 4m logs of straight Topa with a diameter of an average 20cm. (Tolerance 16-24cm). The (4m)² rafts are designed to be tied to each other and the final number used is 100. Approximately 2.5m of #14 Galvanized Wire is used to tie each log

·        In the event of requiring more lift, for example during the Phase 4 switch from Balsa to bottles, more lift can be gained simply by adding more Topa underneath (Offcuts from rafts), or by tying plastic bottles that are being collected underneath the rafts – it is that simple

·        The first 3 phases weigh 126 tons which is comfortably inside the 193 tons lifted by the Balsa. In Phase 4 the switch from Topa to bottles is explained in detail

·        In this task (1.2), 16 Topa rafts will be created to support the Central Structure giving 30.8 tons of lift

1.3            Central Structure

·        The central structure is made up of a 5 sided pyramid coming up from the pentagram swimming pool and a stairwell leading up to the top floor above this

·        This pentagram of 7.6m sides will be positioned on the (16m)² raft so that the side with the canal is positioned 1m from the edge of one side of the raft. This is so that when it is used as scaffold it can be moved tightly against a side of the main pyramid

·        11 x 1.5m (6”x6”) Masaranduba uprights will form the corners and strengthen the sides of the pentagram swimming pool. 10 x 7.5m Masaranduba beams will form the sides at both the top and bottom. Masaranduba survives in water for over 40 years. It is a very hard wood and extremely strong. It does not float in water with a relative density of 1.22

·        Remocaspi columns of 6.5m come up from the swimming pool pentagram forming a 5 sided pyramid and they finally meet a pentagram of Anacaspi at level 3 (called “King’s Level”).

·        From here further Aceitecaspi columns extend vertically up 4 levels (10.862m)  to the 7^th level (called “The Meditation Room”), These form the outer supports of the stairwell and are a massive central support of the total structure

·        5 sided Anacaspi pentagrams are added at the 4^th, 5^th, 6^th and 7^th levels. (3.468m sides). “Zigzag Beams” added to support the 8 flights of steps

·        The 5 x 1.5m high x 7.5m long swimming pool sides will be walled off using Masaranduba boarding. A central 2m wide opening on the Eastern face will be included for connection to the boat channel)

·        At first when the central structure is unconnected to the rest of the main pyramid it will be used as a scaffold – see below

·        A temporary lightning conductor will be added to the central structure

1.4            Temporary Shelter

·        The swimming pool pentagram will be used as a two storey temporary shelter for the project until the end of construction:

o       The first storey will be the site workshop until the pyramid is floated, then it will become a temporary boathouse

o       The second storey will be the guard’s room and also a lockup for site tools

·        It is important that the 5 swimming pool Remocaspi trees are not damaged by any temporary structure

·        A floor will be added with softwood boarding, halfway up the pyramid structure. (Floor area is 46.5m², Radii is 4.4m, Shortest to Centre is 3.6m, Side is 5.2m)

·        A softwood staircase will be built leading up to the guard’s room with lockable hatch. From the guard’s room the staircase will continue up to the stairwell in anticipation of future steps leading higher. These temporary stairs will be used by the first customers of the restaurant

·        Additionally the 5 pyramid sides will be covered in leaves (168m²). These will get recycled into a permanent position in Phases 10 & 11. The pyramid will be temporarily extended upwards so rain runs off the leaves. Windows will be added strategically to allow light in

·        Inside the shelter there will be two hammocks, a private room and a workbench. Basic living equipment will be included for boiling water, cooking and fishing. A lockup cupboard will contain tools

·        The temporary shelter is not shown in the artist’s impression

1.5            Temporary Moving Scaffold

·        The central structure will double as a movable scaffold

·        Note the base Topa extends only 1m more than the 5 sided pyramid on the door side. This is so that the scaffold can be floated into a position where the ironwork, a third the way up on the main pyramid side, can be accessed easily for erection. In fact this means that the 4 sided base of the main pyramid can only initially have Topa 2m inside the main pyramid allowing the scaffold to tuck in 4.4m. (3.4m of this is the swimming pool pyramid). Other sides have edges bigger than 1m but the whole scaffold can easily be rotated

·        The agile moving scaffold can theoretically carry 12.5 tons of additional weight altho less than 6 tons is safer. (The Topa supports 30.8 tons and the whole central structure weighs 18.3 tons). For stability it is essential it is always tied off to the anchors from it’s top. This requires 61m of rope in each corner allowing for a water depth of 5m

·        Inside the stairwell temporary vertical ladders will be added to allow climbers up to any floor height. It is likely that temporary floor softwood boarding will be strategically placed to aid scaffold use and safety

1.6            Permanent Platform Square Base

·        A further 792 shipment of Topa logs will be used to create 36 more 4m² rafts. These will be arranged as a (42m)² - (34m)² square base (4m corridor) platform.

·        The 69 tons of lift calculated above is ample to cover the 22 tons of the square base and the iron structure above it

·        A 38.39m sided square will be formed and each corner will have a 6m diagonal beam to strengthen it. The Masaranduba beams (underwater) will be joined using complicated joinery based on the Japanese carpentry tradition. This means that no nails or screws are required and the woods lock themselves together. In fact the platform avoids the use of any metal in the water

·        The lower square of Masaranduba is separated from the upper square of Anacaspi (as not in the water) by 70 x 1.5m uprights. In Phase 4 this upper-lower separation is strengthened by diagonals

·        The Eastern side will have a 2m gap in the upper part so boats can come into the pyramid

·        A steel cable will be tethered to each anchor and then to the corners of the pyramid. The cables will be adjustable to allow for changing water height. The changing water height is indicated by the buoys

1.7            Iron Structure

·        Iron will be added to the square base. All iron structure is based on 3” angular that is 5/16” thick. The angular comes in 6m lengths and generally where a connection is made two x 1 metre plates are used to span 0.5m of each angular end being joined. Bolts are used every 10cm, so 10 per plate. Welding is used for the more complex joins such as the pyramid corners. All ironwork is painted with “Zincromato” for water protection

·        A small model pyramid will be sculpted with 5”x5” Anacaspi and a 2m squared base. This is designed to give the engineers making the welded joints a model so that the angles are correct. It must be exact. The height is 1.2732m. (Height = Base x 2/π)

·        Two 3.5” screws are used every half meter to secure the iron to the wooden beams

·        The triangular iron structure above the iron platform takes the pyramid up 2/3rds of it’s height. By keeping the stairwell movable every iron join on the outside pyramid is reachable

·        Additional horizontal supports are added at level 6 in preparation for phase 2

·        The total weight of the iron structure (excluding the iron platform) is 8 tons

1.8            Permanent Platform Structure

·        In Phase 4 the permanent platform will begin to provide a strong floating base for the pyramid to sit on. The permanent platform will be a matrix of wooden beams and supports housing around 836,000 plastic bottles. These bottles will provide the pyramid with 976 tons of lift. The bottles will be kept down with a 20cm layer of Topa and 1” thick hard wood decking which will be screwed into Anacaspi batons laid over the Topa. (Bamboo in place of Topa is also being investigated because it is straighter and lighter)

·        The platform is 1.754m high and (38.39m)². Up to 1.3m may sit in the water altho there is a further 20cm contingency layer of Topa which can provide a further 148 tons of lift. (This is considered the safety buffer). The centre of the platform has a pentagram “swimming pool” of 7.5m sides with a 2m wide channel leading from the Eastern side of the pyramid allowing boats to enter

·        By this task the central swimming pool pentagram has been built (but is movable) and the square pyramid base is complete. By the end of this task the  central pentagram will not be movable. The first job is to build another 48 of the 4m² rafts from a last shipment of 1056 Topa logs. This completes the (40m)² Topa base

·        The main beams of Masaranduba form the main 9 supports of the permanent platform and are arranged from the centre as if they are spokes of a spider web pattern. Hence we call these the “Spoke Beams”

·        The pattern of the Spokes are repeated above and below separated by 1.5m high uprights. As with the square base the lower beams are Masaranduba and the upper dry beams are Anacaspi

·        This task will have added 9.3 tons to the structure

1.9            Iron Platform

·        Screwed to the upper wooden platform, the iron platform provides the main platform strength and the base that the iron structure is attached to

·        The iron angular follows the Spoke beams and is positioned so that the right angle points downward. Around the exterior borders of the pyramid platform the right-angle is on the inside edge. On the spokes the right angle is on the clock-wise side

·        The iron used in the Phase 1 platform weighs 2.4 tons

1.10       Floor Supports

·        The main floor beams of Anacaspi are added on levels 6 and 7 to tie the stairwell back to the top of the iron structure. Now no rope is needed to secure the stairwell. These two floors are based on a spider web design similar to the platform

·        The beams weigh less than 3 tons for both floors

1.11         Meditation Room Structure

·        Above level 7 there is no iron because the strength here is not required. Instead four corner beams of Remocaspi extend up 2/3rds the height of the Meditation Room

·        Above this a 2.7m high glass pyramid with aluminium frame completes the pyramid structure. However in this initial phase whilst money is still tight, a temporary wooden structure is added that will be covered in leaves

·        At 2.222m high, the gold leafed Ankh completes phase 1. The Ankh is sculpted from light wood and painted with a hard waterproof paint. The gold leafing is applied on top of the paint. (Artist David Hewson)

·        The Ankh contains a lightening conductor and earths to the iron work