The team found installation in the finished park to be a challenge, especially when it came to drilling and pouring the concrete bases for the interpretive signs on the park grounds. Bringing in a concrete truck and hydrovac rig was prohibited in the finished areas, so they needed to make precast piers or organized helical piles to place where they needed additional underground supports. They also had to be careful when driving their skid-steer loader on pathways and pavers, to avoid damaging or crushing them. As a result, the team had to pay close attention to weight restrictions. Ensuring the pathways were covered with plywood became part of the process, so the skid-steer loader would not damage the finished areas.
The wide variety of signs included in the project required many different installation techniques. In construction zones, the team was able to bring their hydrovac and concrete trucks on-site. However, utilities and underground power near installation locations prevented the ease of pouring concrete in place, which is why they utilized helical piles for certain pieces of signage.
Most of the other equipment they had on-site were ladders and lifts, as the signs were mostly ground level. Handling the large, 12.7-mm (0.5-in) thick tempered glass panels for the donor signs also proved difficult. However, a Signex employee with glazing experience helped lead the team and ensure their successful installation. Some of the other main challenges on-site were the weather and working around other subcontractors, in the final push before grand opening. The Signex team was typically the last to be on-site, and this was a particularly large project, where a lot of planting was taking place in and around where they needed to install. As a result, they found communication to be a vital part of the last push. Anything that had to be installed on the exterior also faced harsh weather conditions, as the team battled cold and snow pileup where signs needed to be installed. However, they found working with a good contractor helped ease those install challenges.
Another challenge for the team was covering the curved concrete wall with a mural at ground level. Many different options for this component were provided, but the clients also wanted a system they could eventually control in-house, as the mural would be changed four to five times throughout the year to suit the season. Signex searched for a flex-face system that would cover the entire 38.1-m wall, but they could not find anything clean enough for ground-level viewing. Ultimately, their installers and production crew decided to create a custom-made system to incorporate the necessary components.
Phase 1 of the project began in 2021, with the completion of the outdoor gardens and the installation of the exterior donor and wayfinding signage. The next phase—including the interior donor and wayfinding signage—was completed in time for the opening of The Leaf in November 2022. The third phase of the project is still in progress, with the exterior wayfinding signage expected to be installed during the warmer weather this summer.
