UAF Engineering Building Topping Off Ceremony

Members of ACEP, INE, legislators, UAF administrators, and members of the Fairbanks press were on hand last Thursday to witness the Topping Off ceremony for the new engineering building being built between the Duckering and Bunnell building at the UAF campus. 

The event follows the ancient Scandinavian tradition of placing a tree at the top of a newly built structure when the last beam has been put in place.  Today iron workers around the United States still follow this tradition by placing a leafy branch or tree on the last piece of structural steel installed on a building.  The supervisor of the project made it a point to mention at Thursday’s ceremony that this is only done if there have been no fatal accidents at the job site.

ACEP is proud of the work these iron workers have accomplished and we are grateful that it has been done while keeping all workers as safe as possible.

TOP LEFT:  Iron workers sign the last piece of structural steel to be installed on the building.

TOP RIGHT:  UAF administrators, legislators, and the project supervisor are next to sign the piece of steel.

BOTTOM LEFT:  Iron workers prepare the piece for hoisting.

BOTTOM RIGHT:  The last piece of steel is installed by iron workers.  The small spruce tree, American flag, and Alaskan State flag can be seen attached to it.

Photos courtesy M. Frey, ACEP/UAF.