#TBT and #BTS with MOAS Executive Director, Andrew Sandall

By Andrew Sandall, MOAS Executive Director

One of the biggest milestones in any construction project is the 'topping-out' ceremony traditionally held to celebrate the placement of the final beam in a structure and to mark the end of the structural phase of the work. For the Cici and Hyatt Brown Museum of Art, that ceremony took place on October 3, 2013, and it was definitely a day to celebrate!

As is traditional at a topping-out ceremony, we gathered together all the key team members who had worked on the design and construction of the building. The final beam was specially prepared with white paint and before it was all installed we were able to sign it to mark our contributions in making the Brown Museum what was rapidly becoming a reality.

The photos here show the signed beam and the process of it being installed into the roo, a moment that was met with loud cheers from all present. Every time I walk into the Museum I remember that somewhere, hidden away behind all of the interior features that would subsequently be installed, my signature is a part of the building that we all worked so hard to bring to Daytona Beach and would become a wonderful museum of Florida art.