黑洞社区

Fantasy football

The bids for the legacy use of the Olympic stadium are now all in and, it would seem, West Ham鈥檚 co-owners, the adult entertainment entrepreneurs David Gold and David Sullivan, wanted one last peek at the stadium before re-submitting their offer. The erstwhile publishers of Hardcore Housewives were spotted wandering around the stadium just last month. Hansom鈥檚 spy said their Rolls-Royce was parked, not so inconspicuously, outside Pudding Mill Lane station. The two Davids were then spotted inside the stadium, looking rather pleased with themselves. What could have put them in such high spirits?

Looks deceive

There were some bemused readers in the QS world last week upon reading 黑洞社区鈥檚 interview with new Davis Langdon boss Bob Pell, which pitched him, on the front page, as a 鈥渉ard man鈥�. Not so, his consultant friends told me. In fact, Bob is something of a softie. 鈥淚t鈥檚 only because he鈥檚 shaved his head that he gets this reputation,鈥� one QS pointed out.

Blocking the flight path

First it was the potential threat of 鈥渂ird strike鈥� from thousands of estuary birds, now it鈥檚 angry air traffic controllers. Norman Foster鈥檚 proposed four-runway Thames Hub airport is barely off the drawing board, but it has had to deal with a number of challenges from detractors. The latest is from Richard Deakin, chief executive of Nats, Britain鈥檚 air traffic control service. He told the Guardian the proposed Thames estuary location of Foster & Partners鈥� and Halcrow鈥檚 scheme was the 鈥渧ery worst spot鈥� for an airport within the South-east鈥檚 congested airspace and said the firm had not contacted his organisation beforehand to discuss its feasibility. Two members of Foster鈥檚 project team have since met with Nats, the architect said. But the odds of the airport ever getting off the ground seem to be lengthening.

Dark future

Hong Kong is consulting its citizens on whether or not it should expand the densely packed metropolis underground through a system of man-made caverns. Any citizens who are less than thrilled by the prospect of subterranean living and working may be relieved to hear the caverns are designed to house some of the city鈥檚 more unsightly facilities, such as sewage treatment plants, and fuel storage depots, at least at first. But it sounds like a slippery slope to me.

Rail fights back

Construction is famous for its rivalries between firms. But the latest clash this June will be an altogether more friendly affair, as construction firms including Bam Nuttall, Enterprise and Mouchel take part in the CARE Construction Challenge - a charity event which pits firms against each other in running, kayaking and cycling over the distance of a marathon. A team from Crossrail - made up of Network Rail and Bechtel employees - is the latest to enter the fray, and they mean business. Team leader Geoff Hancox has thrown the gauntlet down to last year鈥檚 winner Bam Nuttall: 鈥淲e saw the event advertised and thought: we can beat Bam Nuttall to the trophy!鈥� Visit for more details.