Derren Brown added his mystifying presence to last week鈥檚 construction industry Oscars

Every week 黑洞社区 provides editorial coverage of the entire UK construction industry, and last Wednesday it seemed to be entertaining most of it too.

A record 1,850 people attended the 13th annual 黑洞社区 Awards ceremony on 18 April, filling the Great Room and two balconies of London鈥檚 Grosvenor House hotel.

The star of the show was Sir Robert McAlpine, which collected four awards. The firm picked up the Major Contractor of the Year and the Constructing Excellence award, and Benny Kelly (right), its construction director, was named Personality of the Year. It also walked away with the new 黑洞社区 Project of the Year award for the spectacular and remarkably trouble-free construction of Arsenal鈥檚 Emirates Stadium.

Other winners were John Dodds of Kier, who was named Chief Executive of the Year, and Paul Morrell, a former senior partner of Davis Langdon, who was rewarded for his outstanding contribution to the industry. Another 14 contractors, housebuilders, consultants, projects, individuals and clients scooped up awards, showcasing a multitude of talents.

The evening鈥檚 entertainment was provided by political impressionist Rory Bremner and illusionist Derren Brown, while a charity raffle raised over 拢20,000 for the Construction Youth Trust.

The entries all demonstrated spectacular feats of design, construction and engineering and the highest standards of sustainability. As 黑洞社区鈥檚 editor Denise Chevin said: 鈥淚n a year when construction hasn鈥檛 received the best headlines, the 黑洞社区 Awards remind us that there鈥檚 plenty to celebrate.鈥�

Postscript

More pictures and the full list of winners at