View of the Green Point Common, the new 2010 Green Point Soccer Stadium, the Atlantic Ocean, Robben Island and far beyond

Click image to en-large

Believe it or not but I drove up Signal Hill in the rain, it was a dreary day but as I arrived the sun broke through... Have a great weekend !

This is what the R4.3bn new 2010 Green Point Stadium looks like by night on September 16

To see the details, click on image

Now that the cranes are gone, bar one, its allot darker at night and they keep the left side of the stadium where the first strips of mesh membrane are attached in darkness, either by design or because they cant work there at night

What started as a R1.2bn stadium project in February 2006, has now quadrupled to a R4.4bn budget-balancing exercise and the city could need an extra R660m for the rest of the project.

And if the city does not get this additional income from external funding sources, the money will have to come from council coffers and ratepayers' pockets.

Read on here

Sunset colours the mesh membrane of the World Cup Green Point Stadium, Cape Town, South Africa, but is it beautiful ?

Peek a boo ?
Its maybe early days to judge yet, but I am holding my breath ..
this is how it looks when the sunset "colours" the PVC cloth at 18,30 PM.Sept 16

Click Image to see large
Today during the day with little or no sun the fibre glass infused PTFE fabric mesh cloth has the exact colour of the walls of the old stadium's foundation: Grey

It seems to be  only the first strip which caused problems, the second strip looks tight and smooth 

I hope the Green Point Stadium will not look like a grey blob on the horizon

Two more cranes came down today

This was at 19.00 PM this evening

At 18.00 PM a little bit of blue sky after a grey cool day

I fervently hope and pray that this is not it.... that they are going to attach another PVC mesh on the outside of the frame because I think these grey sheets look like dirty washing, it will look awful

SLR Canon EOS 450D and EFS 17-85 mm lens (the only one I own)

  Took this at around 17.30 PM I drove past the stadium to see if they had sorted the wrinkles yet

but there is obviously a problem.. now there is a gap held together by ropes...

Unfortunately and upsettingly I knocked over my tripod with my Canon PS 5S IS, which was my baby, it could do everything except cook, unfortunately they dont sell it anymore and so I am now on the waiting list (Arrives beginning october in Cape Town)

Canon Powershot SX20 IS Super Zoom
it also has a good video

It is the closest to my broken only 1 year old Canon 5S IS
its cheaper to buy the SX20 camera for close ups then buying a new lens for my SLR Cam

BTW THE photoshop here in Cape Town is called  ORMS

View from Big Bay of Table Mountain and a tiny Green Point Stadium in Cape Town

Click on images to see large
I gave this image the Orton treatment I hope you like it

Orton Effect technique is named after a Vancouver Island’s photographer Michael Orton. He took one very sharp photo, deliberately blurred another identical one, overexposed both of them and merged them together to get this dreamy, impressionistic image. He used traditional film but we can do the same thing in
editing program

When I took these shots last weekend it was hazy again and soon after, the clouds rolled in and by the time I arrived home it was drizzling

From left to right Devils Peak, Table Mountain, Signal Hill, Lions Head, Twelve Apostles and as far as I know the last ones on the right are the Hottentot Holland Mountain range

I remember seeing a similar shot 2 years ago with a mock up of the stadium , which was about half the size of Signal Hill, allot of people seeing those kind of images were very concerned that it would ruin this beautiful view of the Cape Town and Table Mountain skyline
Well as you can see it was scaremongering, its hard to find the stadium in these photos

The mesh membrane on the 2010 Soccer World Cup Green Point Stadium isn't looking good

Click images to see large NW side of stadium

On 9/09/2009 the first strip of the PVC mesh membrane was installed,

 since then they have been working on it. Today 13/09/2009 I expected the strip to be stretched and properly attached, so I drove past this evening to take a closer look 

Well this is what it looks like now:

To my dismay its wrinkled !
So far I am not impressed although I am trying to be patient, you would think they would have sorted it by now but maybe its a design fault ? Whatever it is I guess its going to give someone somewhere allot of  headaches ...
I also have a few questions  ...
How easy will it be to keep it clean and how likely would it be that it tears ?

When you look at it here, I wonder if this is some sort of lining, maybe another fabric will be covering the outside ? I have no answers as yet and can't find anything on the web but time will tell...

A trip to Saldanha Bay and the beautiful Langebaan Lagoon

The road into the Postberg Nature Reserve

Today was the perfect day for a 1 hour drive away trip to the West Coast National Park Its where the Postberg Nature Reserve opens its gates in August and September so you can see the fields of wild Spring  flowers and I brought  a picnic along which I had on the beach of the Lagoon 

The Reserve is located within West Coast National Park, skirting the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by hills. In full bloom in August and September, this collection of wild plants and flowers is internationally renowned for its beauty.

Langebaan lagoon 

Click Images to see large

The village Langebaan

Langebaan from the "Lookout" in the Postberg Reserve

Road into  the Postberg Reserve with  view to Saldanha Bay

This is where I had my picnic on the shore of the azure blue water of the Langebaan Lagoon

Wild Flowers in the Postberg Nature Reserve

Unfortunately the photos have the wrong sequence ..Blogger has updated the ;"editor" and now the photos are posted in a different order 

The new 2010 World Cup Green Point Stadium is another Cape Town icon

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The magnificent view from the Granger Bay Marina breakwater

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Close up of the strip of PVC attached to the facade of the new 2010 Green Point Stadium in Cape Town

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Driving along the new golf course I get the first glimpse of the membrane

I have to get up at 6.30 tomorrow so I am rushing this
and did the minimal of photo editing

From Wakame restaurant area
I must say I feel mixed about the look
It looks good here
but what do you think of the above images ?

The info about the
Mesh fabric façade :

The entire stadium will be clad in a light, silver mesh fabric façade.
Large elements of approximately 2m by 10m will create a uniform, smooth skin that abstracts the building from any scale – it will be difficult to measure the size of the building in this context

Made of PTFE, this skin will be waterproof and windproof. The membrane comprises expansive concave elements that form a cohesive flowing facade, which follows the stadium’s undulating shape. The fibreglass tissue emphasises this effect as its colour creates a sense of depth and animation. The translucent surface absorbs and reflects the effect of the existing daylight

It allows only 30% of natural light and thus significantly reduces thermal radiation and glare while providing natural ventilation and cooling for spectators in the stadium bowl. The cladding has another important environmental function; that of reducing visual clutter by creating an even outer façade that respects the surrounding historic urban fabric.
WHAT Do you think ?

September 9/2009 Nightshot of the 2010 Green Point Stadium

The shot is of last night just after midnight it was taken with my new camera the EOS 450D It was in honour of the moon
The sight was incredible

Hopefully I will have the time one day to learn how to take shots of the moon
(once the World Cup is over)
I failed dismally :( but the stadium looks good NON ?

Another crane down and the first PVC membrane on the Green Point Stadium during day light

Click images to see large

Ok unfortunately the sequence of these images are not right but you will get the gist of it
The membrane looks good from here What I love is.. that I will be able to see the "bones" of the stadium

The top part of the crane has come down now these guys are preparing the next part, I saw them walk fast as if they werent + or - 70 meters high up in the sky !

and that was the top ...
I am preparing another post... More images ..images I took when I drove past, they are the close ups of the stadium+ETFE membrane

Sunset photo of the PVC membrane on the facade of the 2010 Green Point Stadium/Cape Town Stadium

Click on image to see large
On September 9 2009 the first strip of the PVC membrane was attached to the facade
Only now did I realise I took photos of it yesterday evening when I arrived home, I whipped out my camera since it was such a painfully beautiful evening and the stadium just looked glorious as usual. Today I saw the membrane in day light its a silver grey but it hasn't been stretched or properly attached yet, they were still working on that first strip
I have quite a few images to edit which I will post as soon as they are ready in a few hours

Another thing I want to mention is that another crane was dismantled today.
Once they are all gone I will miss them because of the extra light..yet undoubtedly the stadium will look so much better without them
and..
I had hoped to take some night shots of the membrane but unfortunately that side of the stadium is now pitch dark ...

The First PVC Membrane strip is up on the facade of the 2010 Cape Town Stadium !!!

Its a milestone
I posted an image on flickr
HERE
more to come on my blog this evening
Have to go to dance class now

View of Table Mountain and the 2010 Cape Town Stadium in Green Point on a gorgeous spring day

Granger Bay Marina with (left) Devils Peak, Table Mountain and Signal Hill and you can even see the peak of Lions Head peeping over Signal Hill

Today was a gorgeous spring day I had a late and delicious seared tuna/tagliatelle lunch on the terrace of the Radisson Blue Hotel right next to the ocean, with the wide open scenery all around me, I was able to use my new EOS 450D camera for a change
This shot was taken just a few steps away from my chair


I was told today that the Radisson Blue Hotel still has some rooms available for 2010 and at the moment they are upgrading the superior and executive rooms they also have self catering holiday apartments attached to the hotel
Check it out here
Qua position this hotel is hard to beat but you will find mixed reviews here

Morning afternoon and evening images of the new 2010 WC Soccer Cape Town Stadium

CLICK IMAGES TO SEE LARGE

After heavy rain. Early morning; The stadium against a slate grey sky

Notice the beautiful colour of the roof !

Which for some strange reason seems to mimic the aqua marine colour of the sea

Mid afternoon; The sun breaks through the clouds imstantly intensifying the colours of the sea and the glass roof takes on the same hue as the sky

The blues and reds of this evenings sunset are reflected in the roof

o8 September 2009
Brazil, became the first South American team to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa over the weekend, while Ghana became the first African team to qualify on Sunday 6 September. They join Korea Republic, Korea DPR, Japan, Australia, the Netherlands and the host nation at South Africa 2010.
By 18 November we will know which 32 teams will compete for World Cup glory next year and on 4 December during th Final Draw in Cape Town it will be decided where the teams will play during the group stages of the tournament