黑洞社区

Battersea鈥檚 missing chimneys

My reporters received an invitation to this year鈥檚 launch of the English Heritage - Heritage at Risk list, which takes place later this month at Battersea Power Station. They were somewhat confused by the map appended to the invitation, which marked the power station鈥檚 location with the words: 鈥淚conic, twin-chimneyed power station鈥�. Was this a reference to my youth when there were indeed just two chimneys atop Europe鈥檚 largest brick edifice? Or do they know something I don鈥檛? After all, the first chimney to undergo rebuilding is now half-demolished. It could prove a very prescient place for a Heritage at Risk event.

Grate expectations

They say that the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so I guess the proof of the building would have to be in the occupying. It鈥檚 therefore reassuring to see that peer and architect Richard Rogers is backing his own design skills and moving into the Leadenhall building in the City, aka The Cheesegrater, according to press reports. That should go some way to assuring other prospective tenants of the speculative development that it鈥檚 a good place to base themselves. Plus, if any future tenants do find any problems with the building they鈥檒l only have a short lift ride to take it up with the man himself.

Bob the minor

The way our profession is portrayed to children is key to getting the next generation interested in construction. So I was among many people alarmed to see the new face of popular children鈥檚 TV character Bob the Builder, who seems to have been recast as, well, a child. HIT Entertainment, the creator of Bob, claims the new fresh-faced, computer-generated Bob is designed to 鈥渞etain the emotional warmth that has always given Bob the Builder a firm place in the hearts of young viewers鈥�. But I think he looks
a bit young to have completed all of the relevant qualifications. Christopher Kennan, executive producer at HIT Entertainment said, upon revealing the new-look Bob that he was 鈥渓ooking forward to viewers鈥� reactions鈥�. He might feel differently after it received an angry reaction from fans. One tweeted at Bob: 鈥淵ou鈥檒l never replace the real Bob the Builder. You鈥檒l never fix anything.鈥�

Appy ever after

With the construction market picking up, you鈥檇 think that most firms would be rushed off of their feet. But a few boffins at consultant WSP have found the time to
compile a list of the most sustainable apps around. Top of the list is eBay, because it鈥檚 popular and it embeds a culture of reusing things rather than throwing them
away. Second was Kindle, partly because it means that we don鈥檛 use as much paper. Of the more leftfield entries on the list is LeftoverSwap, an app that allows you to post
a photo of your leftover food for someone local to come and collect, which ranked at number 15.

Back in the saddle

Lastly, congratulations to Wates鈥� group investment director and regular 黑洞社区 columnist Stephen Beechey for completing a 45-mile charity bike ride for the Prince鈥檚 Trust between Buckingham Palace and Windsor castle. It鈥檚 not too late to sponsor him at www.justgiving.com/Stephen-Beechey.