黑洞社区

Rear-ended

I was chatting to a technology type the other day who was lamenting the fact that the construction industry still uses the acronym 鈥淏IM鈥� when describing matters digital, since it doesn鈥檛 give the full picture. And it seems there are other, less obvious, pitfalls. 鈥淔rom time to time my smartphone likes to spellcheck it as 鈥楤UM鈥�,鈥� he added. I don鈥檛 imagine that sort of thing is especially helpful when sending messages to the office, or clients for that matter.

Diddums

Are you a white man of a certain age in the construction industry? Do you feel under attack in the post-#MeToo climate? Perhaps you鈥檙e not alone. My colleague was talking to a high-flying woman in the industry whose eyes have recently been opened to the inner workings of under-siege men. After yet another 鈥減ale, male and stale鈥� construction gathering, one such chap took exception to the label. 鈥淚 mean, how would you feel if I described you as 鈥榝emale, uppity and pre-menopausal鈥�?鈥� he asked her. I would suggest it鈥檚 a tagline that鈥檒l never catch on, for a host of reasons. It doesn鈥檛 rhyme, for starters.

Ale and hearty

To the 黑洞社区 Centre for the launch of a report on factory-made housing in London, with the keynote speaker Richard Rogers. Ahead of the event, my scribe, like any sensible hack, took himself to a nearby pub 鈥� and nearly fell off his bar stool when Rogers himself popped in for a sharpener and plonked himself down right next to my chap. My hack is happy to report that 鈥揹espite spending a lot of time in wine-swilling Tuscany 鈥� the architect still likes a pint of ale.

If the hat fits

Into the event itself and the drinks were still flowing. But now they were being handed out by waiters and waitresses dressed in hi-vis and hard-hats. I鈥檓 told the catering staff still had their black trousers and white shirts on underneath. Perhaps it was all a cunning ploy to see if any of the staff fancied trying their hands at plugging the industry鈥檚 skills gap instead of handing out free booze.

Going for the burn

The well-heeled denizens of Highbury Fields in north London were unhappy with a 拢2.5m refurbishment of Highbury leisure centre 鈥� the finished building was a far cry from the promised designs, they moaned, branding the refurbished centre 鈥渁n out-of-town Tesco鈥� (Waitrose they might have tolerated). But before the service operator was able to fulfil its promise to fund 鈥渋mprovements鈥�, the building burned to the ground. Apparently, the contractor was putting finishing touches to the refurb when someone mentioned a leak in the roof. Nothing a dab of bitumen wouldn鈥檛 sort 鈥� The next thing anyone knew, 80 firefighters were battling a huge blaze. Fortunately, no one was hurt. And as one cheery local resident put it: 鈥淎t least we seem to have got ourselves an outside swimming pool at last.鈥�

Damp coarse

Readers may recall a recent note in this column about the chlorine pong emanating from the water features surrounding the new Bloomberg HQ in the City. Well, it seems there is an even iffier whiff within the Stirling prize-winning structure itself. A chum of mine who works in the building is bothered by an odour in the gents caused, he says, by there being 鈥渘ot enough water鈥� within the porcelain (for admirably green motives, of course). Added to this, he says, the facilities are floored with grey carpet tiles, which is bound to store up trouble, literally. 鈥淲hat were RIBA thinking?鈥� he wailed.