Channel 8 – launch studio, Sulaymaniyah

Channel 8 had no studio, no on-air look and no habits to inherit. Everything viewers would come to know as the channel, from the anchor position to the colour of the light, was decided on an empty floor in Sulaymaniyah, on a tight launch timeline.

A station from a blank floor

VIPRO’s scope was the whole broadcast environment: studio design, set architecture, the lighting concept, LED integration and the technical systems behind daily news and live programming. With nothing to adapt, set, rig and screens were planned as one system.

Two levels, one picture

The floor is planned in two layers. A circular anchor desk sits at the centre on a riser ringed with light. Behind and above, a mezzanine with glass balustrades and a feature staircase with lit treads gives directors a raised plane: presenters can be framed coming down into the main set, and wide shots gain real depth between the desk in the foreground and the back wall.

Overhead, circular trusses carry a grid of DMX-controlled fixtures around a lit oculus in the ceiling, so one rig moves between neutral news light and stronger looks for other formats.

The wall behind the news

The visual centre is a high-resolution curved LED wall built into the set architecture for real-time graphics and branded transitions. The LED walls were supplied by VIPRO’s project partner Hexacue. VIPRO produced the 3D renders and construction drawings, supervised on site and coordinated local contractors through AV installation and LED calibration; the photographs show the studio during that phase.