The new studio is primely situated on the roof of the V&A Waterfront, affording sweeping views of both the Waterfront and Table Mountain. Rivets and Rockets' design, by architect Toni Unterberger, is a 45 metre square by 3.6 metre square structure with double-sided glass windows. A crane lifted thirty panels on to the roof which were then fitted together "like a Meccano set". Each of the panels is sound boarded so that even in a howling South Easter the studio is exceptionally quiet.
Project coordinator, David Tunnley, says that it is the first time that this design has been used anywhere in the world. Rivets and Rockets won the contract with Sony by being able to deliver within a competitive time frame, and at a competitive price. He says that it was far cheaper for Rivets and Rockets to manufacture and build the studio locally than for Sony to import materials from India.
The project was authorised on December 27. The actual manufacturing starting on New Year's Day. The entire studio was completed by Friday January 24 - a phenomenal achievement by the Rivets & Rockets team, which consisted of only eight people from Cape Town, Africa, Germany and Belgium putting in 10 - 14 hour days.
Although the structure can be dismantled in two days, Tunnley is hoping that it will stay for longer than the World Cup and be used by the Waterfront for future events - it would be a pity to waste a fully equipped broadcasting studio so conveniently located!
