黑洞社区

Our man in Havana

When is a half-smoked cigar not just a piece of rubbish? When it belonged to one of Britain鈥檚 greatest ever engineers, that鈥檚 when. The half-smoked cigar of Isambard Kingdom Brunel will form the star attraction of a new exhibition devoted to the man at the SS Great Britain, when it opens in 2016. The stogie is one of 700 items the museum has amassed, including his school reports and a personalised pen knife, to tell the story of his life. Having crossed paths with old IKB a few times when I was covering the construction industry back in the 19th century, I鈥檓 confident the exhibition will be a rip-roaring experience.

Plane speaking

You can usually rely on the CBI to be outspoken and quotable. But such are the sensitivities around the UK鈥檚 ongoing airports debate (see news), even they are becoming equivocating and bland. On Monday - ahead of Sir Howard Davies ruling out the Boris Island proposal for a Thames Estuary airport - the CBI called for 鈥渉ub capacity at a single location鈥�. But which airport was the CBI throwing its weight behind? Expansion of Heathrow or Gatwick? The implication seems to be Heathrow, given it is a more significant hub airport than Gatwick. But that didn鈥檛 stop spokesmen from both airports claiming the business lobby group had backed their plans. London mayor Boris Johnson this week complained politicians would never agree on the question of Gatwick or Heathrow, and if even the usually forthright CBI can鈥檛 make up its mind on this, it doesn鈥檛 bode well for the MPs.

How does your garden grow?

A winner of the Wolfson Economics Prize and 拢250,000 to advance proposals for a UK garden city was expected as 黑洞社区 went to press. Whoever the winner is, I think we can all agree the competition and its five brilliant shortlisted entries have invaluably stimulated the national debate about how to meet this country鈥檚 housing shortage. The 黑洞社区 Centre in central London is running a special exhibition profiling the finalists and their research, insights, planning diagrams and illustrations until 29 September. Well worth a visit.

The crossing

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it is in fact a bridge. Atkins has published research suggesting civil engineers should be using composite technology from the skies to build better hi-tech bridges. The engineering consultant has adapted technology used to build passenger aircraft to create an advanced composite bridge over the River Frome in Frampton Cotterell near Bristol. The bridge - made of layers of carbon bound together using a tough resin - costs a quarter less than their traditional concrete and steel alternatives. It鈥檚 a fascinating idea - but has it got wings?

Yabba dabba doo

Fundraising now, and it is my pleasure to bring you more updates on our sector鈥檚 charitable exploits. Jones Lang LaSalle raised a whopping 拢20,094 for crisis support charity the Samaritans at last week鈥檚 annual Property 5K run in Regent鈥檚 Park. Helping them raise the cash was UK chief executive Guy Grainger, who competed dressed as a Flintstone and pledged a 拢1 donation for every runner he overtook. Meanwhile, Costain is fielding seven staff for next April鈥檚 London marathon as part of the contractor鈥檚 multitude of activities to raise 拢1m for charity to celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2015. Excellent efforts.