The Flyovers Behind The Convention Centre, Cape Town

[ Flickr]

Above: A stitched three-photograph panorama of the flyovers behind the CTICC.

Last week I attended two of the three days of the World Economic Forum on Africa 2009, which was held in Cape Town at the CTICC (Cape Town International Convention Centre).

As I was leaving on the first day and heading to one of the many CTICC car parks I noticed the (semi) symmetry and beauty of the lights and reflections that occurs between the highway flyovers. For an area that is always buzzing with activity, whether it's morning or evening bumper-to-bumper vehicles stuck in traffic or lots of foot traffic heading to or from a conference at the centre, this scene was rather tranquil.

The building on the left houses a massive ad billboard that is always lit at night and can't be missed by the thousands of commuters heading home in their cars. The ads change every few months but very few are well designed or attractive.

In the centre is a small body of water that serves as the start (or end) point of the new water-taxi service that operates between the CTICC/five-star Westin Grand hotel and the V&A Waterfront. Unfortunately, although I've read about it in the newspaper, I can't find a link about it on the Web. They should have invited me to the press launch!

The building lit up on the right is this building, a 15-floor office block called Convention Tower, which sprang up a few years ago. At night for a few hours it is lit around the edges with the most ridiculous light pollution and it makes it look as if someone plonked a radioactive giant rectangular slab on the foreshore. I have wondered how environmentally friendly the lighting is - does the building collect it via, for example, solar means during the day or is it another unnecessary drain on our already strained electricity supply?

I like my panorama though.