Roof demolition on Jibboom Street's century-old powerhouse is underway with the help of a state-of-the-art, remote-controlled piece of machinery. The yellow robot's name is The Brokk, and it does its work atop a platform, which is carried by crane. Once lifted above the future home of the Powerhouse Science Center, it carefully demolishes the building's roof. This version of The Brokk, according to construction officials, is the biggest of its kind in the country."It will be actually demolishing the roof in pieces," Powerhouse Science Center interim Executive Director Mike Galane said. "We have cameras on the inside that are monitoring that progress because, as you’d imagine, this is a pretty delicate operation with an over 100-year-old roof." Part of the challenge with this construction project is maintaining the building's architectural integrity. While modernizing the structure, Galane explained, they must preserve its original appearance. "This is actually an iconic, historic Willis Polk design, a very famous architect out of San Francisco," he said. "The objective here is to restore and preserve that architecture as we also build on the modern parts of it."Steel beams currently surround the old building. On the construction site, it's known as the exostructure. "That steel structure is put in place to hold those walls as they actually get rebuilt," Galane said.The beams extend from the building's roof to the ground, where they're fastened down by concrete footing.Construction here, like any project, hasn't come without its occasional setbacks. Galane said smoke from the Camp Fire and recent rains have stalled some of the work, and with a building from 1912, there are occasional surprises. "With any historic building where you’re doing reconstruction, there are always going to be some surprises. Yes, some of it has just been, 'How old are those walls? What’s really in them?' So getting into that, after we started the construction," Galane explained. "But pretty much everything is on schedule for us to complete the building by the end of 2020."The Powerhouse Science Center, once finished, will transform the old PG&E power station into a science destination, which is expected to draw 300,000 visitors a year. It will house a variety of exhibitions that are currently being curated. Additionally, a 22,000-square-foot, two-story structure will be built on the east side of the existing building, which will have an entryway, classrooms, offices, a café and, perhaps most exciting, a planetarium. "It will be an iconic, spherical structure that we hope will become as notable as the Tower Bridge for people driving by on I-5," Galane said.The project also figures to play a prominent role in riverfront development. "We see this as a key pivot point in the development of the (Old Sacramento Waterfront) and then connecting across to the Railyards," Galane said.