The Complexity of Simplicity

What's interesting about this phase of our main living construction is the effort and time invested to prepare for the floor pour -- initial foundation pour; PEX for heating and cooling; placement of sensors to record the results of the solar heating system; steel, including hours and hours of welding; placement of rebar & wire to hold it all together; insulation, insulation, and more insulation; compacted sand and backfill with hugh machines to assist; plumbing; electrical; cables; forms; table vaults in place, but not before they were machined; roof drainage; foundation drains; truck loads of backfill; inspections by building officials; and other details I've already forgotten. Once the pour happens the details will mostly be hidden and the whole complex mass of pipes and wires and conduit will look like a simple concrete floor. The modified grade will look like it was always just like it is today. Already it is difficult to remember the original site's appearance or the huge initial holes dug for the foundations. I'm continually fascinated by the complexity of design and the application of that design resulting in what appears, on the surface, to be simple. When done thoughtfully all the details of construction are reduced down and down and down to a simple outcome. An outcome that defies the initial complexities. Brad's attention to detail is staggering. I remember when we were working on the barn and preparing to pour the floor. The details were stunning but when the pour was completed it all looked so smooth and clean and tidy. The main living building has so much more detail than the barn, with the solar heat system, for example, that it seems like the barn was "child's play" in retrospect. In a few days the main living floor will look so simple. Even with all our blog documentation we will wonder why it was so time consuming, why it was so difficult, why we worried so...