BUILD IT AND EY WILL COME

BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME - 30/06/2014 The Construction team at the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) in Rio de Janeiro are presently operating a Help Desk to ensure Media Rights Licensees' (MRLs') construction-related issues are solved - but that is just the middle part of a journey which began back in 2011 and will end some time after the final curtain falls on the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil .

Juan Mancheno (fourth from right) and the Construction Help Desk team

The initial survey was done in September 2011 and construction at Riocentro began around the time of the Final Draw, which took place last December, explains Juan Mancheno, Senior Manager for Construction and Broadcaster Relations. Requests for spaces and furniture came to us at that time, which gave us six months to prepare.

While producing a functional space for MRLs is obviously the priority, there was another key area to focus on in Rio. We put a lot of attention into the look and feel, and the public spaces - we wanted to present the Master Control Room (MCR), the Central Equipment Room (CER) and the Production Centre in the best possible manner. I think we have done a good job because I see a lot of MRLs taking pictures of these areas! That makes me feel proud.

Both the construction of the IBC and the Help Desk itself lean heavily on local support. A team of 13 are led by Ronald Den Hollander, Head of IBC Construction, whose long-term staff have worked on-site at the IBC since the handover last year. The team contains seven Brazilians, four of whom are interns, and includes Senior Manager Joao Gama - who has been part of the construction team on-site in Rio since early 2012. I like to say the IBC is not a copy and paste, adds Juan, who is working on his fourth FIFA World Cup for HBS. There are different conditions and cultures everywhere we go so it is important to make the most of local knowledge. We always try to work as much as possible with local teams, local engineers and local construction solutions. For me, as an architect, I am always learning with each project we do!

Local knowledge or not, there are some things which simply cannot be prepared for. The most common request is about the temperature of the air-conditioning, explains Juan. It's not like in South Africa four years ago, when it was a proper winter - this is a Rio winter! One MRL has brought piranhas into the IBC. This was not a problem to accommodate. Last time they wanted to bring lion cubs into the studio!

The Construction team will remain in Rio after broadcasters have headed home in order to oversee the dismantling of the IBC and handover back to the owners of the Riocentro complex - scheduled for 30 August 2014.

Office areas which were being measured up and prepared in December 2013 are now in use as vital areas of the HBS operation at the IBC...

Hall 4 evolved over the six months from December 2013 to become MRL space and HBS areas such as the MCR and the Information/Booking counters...

From an empty shell to the Master Control Room (MCR).

LINK:	http://www.hbs.tv/news-archive/news/article/build-it-and-they-will-com...
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