From May 24, 2018 through December 28, 2019, I embarked on a years-long project to photograph the construction of The Lincoln at Wiehle Station, an apartment building near my house in Reston, Virginia.

The construction was a massive undertaking, and I revisited the site many times in those subsequent months.  I began by taking shots of raw materials used in the construction, including wires, concrete and concrete mixers, metal scaffolding, and cranes.  But what caught my interest were the people who were creating the building from the ground up.

This post starts with them. I asked if I could take their photos.  All of them were very willing. The first photo is of head supervisor, Mr. Kevin Hazard. He was quite friendly and told me that he had until Labor Day (2018) to lay the building’s foundation.  After introducing the people below, I then present the materials used in the construction, and successive images of the construction’s progress. Finally, I show the finished building, the name of which has been changed to The Russell at Reston Station.

The Metro’s Reston Station is nearby, and the expectation is that the surrounding area will be developed further so that people can walk to the Metro and take it to work as far away as Washington, DC, and what we call the DMV (DC, Maryland and Virginia) region to the east, as well as Dulles Airport and Ashburn, Virginia to the west. This phenomenon can be seen in areas where the Metro already built stations, for example, Ballston in Arlington. The area around that station has become fully developed over the last 30 years.

The People Building The Russell at Reston Station

Kevin the Head Supervisor

Welder

Traffic Cop

This fellow had very little to do for most of the day.  He was happy to pose for this photo.

Ladies taking a break

I don’t know what their roles were at the construction site, but they were pleased to have their photo taken.

Construction Materials

The amount of material that goes into a finished building can be staggering, and keeping track of it all requires that the site be protected, thus one sees the outlines of the wire fence in the photo foreground. 

Progress

I took hundreds of photos throughout the two-year period during which this  complex was being built.  Here I present a few

Crane at the site

Conversation

Workers on Site

Placing Exterior Panels

Building Wrapped in Insulation

Applying the Façade

Rear View

Finished Building Panorama

Some Exterior Touches

Steps near Main Entrance

Water Fountain and Bicycle Air Station

Ready for Occupancy

View from Google Earth

Here is an image of The Russell at Reston Station as seen from Google Earth.  I also provide a link so the reader can explore the area which is being transformed every day.

Image of The Russell at Reston Station as seen from Google Earth

Russell at Reston Station on Google Earth

Here is a link to The Russell at Reston Station website where the reader can view the interiors. 

The Russell at Reston Station Website

Conclusions

This project showed me what one can capture in the construction of a modern apartment complex: the people, the materials, and the building phases and progress. I heard Spanish being spoken during my visits, and I imagine most of the workers were Hispanic. They do great work.

What I could not capture were the many prior conversations and negotiations among and between the developer and the various Reston community committees that must approve a project of this scope and scale.

Nor could I capture the countless hours of architects and engineers using advanced Computer Aided Design programs to finalize plans for the phased construction of such a building. 

Although I was impressed by the construction of the building, aesthetics is another matter.  These buildings have far too many ‘textures’ and façades for my taste, yet people flock to lease them.

Except for the Google Earth image, all photos are copyright of Larry Kerschberg, All Rights Reserved. The cameras used are the Leica M10, SL and Q with various Leica lenses.