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True grit

Mott MacDonald chair Keith Howells, who retires in June after 45 years at the consulting firm, seems to be a bit of a romantic. In a profile on the company鈥檚 website Howells recalls some of his most memorable experiences: being on a yacht in a 鈥渉uge鈥� mid-Atlantic storm, being lost with a broken-down Land Rover in a Nigerian desert, driving from the UK to Iraq. And they go on: singing with a live band in Hong Kong, getting caught up in a failed military coup in Lesotho, and meeting a tiger on a footpath in a Nepali forest. One more memory made the list: 鈥淕etting married (second time round).鈥� Some might consider this his most daring feat of all.

Soft soap

Last week one of my reporters visited Sellar鈥檚 offices to learn about its proposed Renzo Piano-designed mixed-use development in London鈥檚 Southwark. Planning consultant Chris Horn promised: 鈥淲e wouldn鈥檛 fill the [retail] space with chains. Our view is absolutely clear: we will let these spaces to the kind of independent businesses which already occupy Bermondsey Street.鈥� Why, then, asked my reporter, does the CGI for the development feature an Aesop shop front? The luxury skincare brand, which flogs hand soap at 拢27, already has 18 stores in London. Step forward Renzo Piano partner Joost Moolhuijzen to explain. 鈥淪ometimes CGI is too accurate,鈥� he admitted. Or inaccurate in this case.

Though I say it myself 鈥�

Jean Nouvel, the French architect who once boycotted the opening of his own building, even going to court to get his name removed from the Philharmonie de Paris 鈥� his 鈧�390m concert hall in the French capital 鈥� doesn鈥檛 seem to feel the same about the Qatar National Museum he designed. Upon its opening last week, he gushed: 鈥淚t is a total object: an experience that is at once architectural, spatial, and sensory, with spaces inside that exist nowhere else.鈥� Certainly not at the Philharmonie de Paris 鈥�

Stumped

ISG is pretty chuffed to have won the deal to build the new Compton and Edrich Stand at Lord鈥檚 cricket ground in London. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very prestigious,鈥� says chief executive Paul Cossell, 鈥済iven it鈥檚 the home of cricket.鈥� The firm鈥檚 US owners are, however, nonplussed by it all. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e never heard of cricket so it鈥檚 less interesting for them. They can鈥檛 understand why a five-day match can end in a draw.鈥� I鈥檓 sure when the new stand gets built, they will be bowled over.

Tall stories

As temperatures rise over the merits of Foster + Partners鈥� 305m-tall Tulip tower in the City of London, how developers and architects here must cast envious eyes across the North Sea to Denmark, where western Europe鈥檚 tallest tower is planned for Brande, population 7,000. Designed for fashion brand Bestseller, the surrounding land in Jutland is so flat the 320m tall tower will be visible from 60km away. Nonetheless, it seems everyone is in favour of it. 鈥淭here really is no opposition,鈥� says Anders Udengaard, a Socialist Left party politician. Morten Dickmann, a reporter for the local newspaper, tells the Guardian: 鈥淭he Danish news media tried hard to find someone opposed but they couldn鈥檛 find anyone.鈥� The story appeared on April Fool鈥檚 Day but it seems it is no joke. Extraordinary.