OHL Internship, Summer 2013: First work site visit, and Salamanca trip, Felipe.

Today has by far been the greatest day that we have encountered throughout this wonderful experience. Our tutor Alejandro Vizcaino scheduled for us to go on our first work site visit of our internship, where we traveled to centro, Madrid, along with the head consulting engineer of the projects we were to see, Manuel. Before arriving to the first site we were briefed on the projects we were about to see being that they aren't those in which either of us have been heavily involved in. Manuel told us that both of these projects were brought to OHL for a rehabilitation process. The first building was a 40 year old apartment complex building which was being reinforced in order to meet some of the architect's design demands. We met up with the superintendent of the project who guided us through it and explained in detail what it was they were doing in each level. It was very interesting to know that the initial plans for the new building design were to demolish and build, but after deep research, problem solving, and calculations, Manuel was able to convince the architect of the project that reinforcing the building while making the design change would be the most efficient way to go. For the second project Manuel told us that it was one of the first building in Madrid's old district. It was a building called Teatro de la Comedia originally built in the 1800s with wood and bricks as its main materials, it then burned down on the early 20th century and was rebuilt in six months with everything made out of concrete. When OHL took over the project, the building had been closed to the public for a couple of years, and it took them five years to get all the right permits in order to begin the rehabilitation process. All in all, this was a magnificent experience where we saw a clear picture of what our future may hold. we also visited the cities of Salamanca and Segovia over the weekend. Until next time, Felipe.