Roof raised at Obz square

In the making: Dr Max Price and deputy vice-chancellor Prof Crain Soudien at the roof-wetting.

The revellers didn't quite raise the roof, but with the main roof on the seven-storey, R485-million Obz Square student residence completed in March, UCT officials, project consultants and contractors celebrated the occasion in some style at a roof-wetting on 12 May.

There's still plenty of fine-detail and finishing work to be done, but as Chris McMinn of NMC Construction reported at the bash, brickwork to the seventh floor had been halfway completed by the end of April, while 433 of the final 887 rooms had been completed, toilets and all.

The vice-chancellor, Dr Max Price, reminded the audience why UCT had embarked on the project - the university's largest capital investment yet and set to become UCT's biggest student residence when it opens its doors in 2012 - notably the changing demographics of students, many of whom who would struggle with their studies if they weren't able to live within reach of the university and its facilities.