ENGINEERING AROUND A CITY
In the Marina Bay circuit, some of the grandstands are built one and a half months before the race, which can lead to last-minute issues.
For instance, even though a grandstand might be located in the same spot for several years, there could be rows missing or a change in actual layout after the grandstands are rebuilt, which Mr Lai’s team has to address.
“We do our best to really make sure that all the seats are there, there’re no missing seats and the seats are properly labeled. We also check the condition of the seats as well,” said Mr Lai, adding that they are exposed to the natural elements, such as wind and rain.
For his team, one key challenge is working under strict time constraints when assembling and dismantling the grandstands and facilities within the circuit park.
“Sometimes when there’re events going on for certain stakeholders, we have to work out the timing as to when is the earliest they can hand over the space to us,” said Mr Raj.
He cited the example of Connaught Grandstand, located at the end of Esplanade Bridge, sits along a “live” road which is still open to public vehicles.
His team works around tight schedules to construct it. When they close off the road in the wee hours of Wednesday morning on race week, they only have a limited time to set up before they have to reopen the road for the morning traffic, said Mr Raj.
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