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Defriended

Designer Wayne Hemingway decided to speak his mind at this year鈥檚 Construction Products Association (CPA) annual dinner last week. He had some valid criticisms of the industry鈥檚 lack of social media savvy. But they were delivered in such a blunt way that it resulted
in him being progressively ticked off Christmas card lists around the room as his ire wandered from one organisation to the next. At one point Hemingway turned on his hosts, pointing out that construction was a 拢40bn industry, with around 300,000 workers but only 25 people 鈥渓iked鈥� the CPA鈥檚 Facebook page. He must have inspired some people because four days later the number of 鈥渓ikes鈥� had shot up to 41.

Getting greener all the time

We already know Bam Construct鈥檚 Co-op headquarters in Manchester has good green credentials, but did you know it鈥檚 getting greener? When we wrote about it in November 2012 it had a BREEAM score of 94.32% but now it has received its final certificate and it rated 95.16%. I鈥檓 not quite sure how they pulled this off - perhaps they just put some plants in the lobby - either way it has made it officially the highest BREEAM-rated building ever and turned an already impressive structure into a world beater.

Lord of the interpretative dance

The Construction Industry Council held an industry event with a difference last week, with its 25th anniversary dinner combining chief executive Graham Watts鈥� unlikely twin passions of construction and ballet. Guests at the dinner were treated to performances from a host of rising stars of the dance world, in aid of the Construction Youth Trust and Dance UK鈥橲 Healthier Dancer programme. One act which may have been a one-off, however, was the surprise turn (not quite a pirouette) by
Watts himself, who took to the stage as part of a performance to raise awareness of dancers鈥� injuries. Does a career at the Coliseum beckon?

Tensions in the Middle East

Energy minister Greg Barker this week led a delegation to Saudi Arabia with 20 of the UK鈥檚 leading solar energy companies. On Monday Barker tweeted: 鈥淗eading to #SaudiArabia  tonight with over 20 great UK #Solar firms who can all help with $100bn Saudi solar expansion programme! #Growth.鈥� I鈥檓 sure that the companies involved were pleased with the ministerial support, but given the role that Barker played in the feed-in tariffs debacle last year, which led to numerous solar firms going to the wall, I鈥檓 also pretty certain that they managed to keep their gushing thanks to a minimum.

Bringing down the house

He may be a warzone veteran, but the BBC鈥檚 Justin Webb still admitted he was 鈥渟hocked鈥� when a digger working on a site next to his south London residence succeeded in smashing a hole in his family鈥檚 home. Southwark council seemed keen to emphasise that the contractor responsible had not been working for the local authority. Deputy leader Ian Wingfield said: 鈥淲e should be clear that the damage was caused by a contractor carrying out work for a private client.鈥� I suspect that Webb couldn鈥檛 give two bricks whether the vehicle was working for a public or private sector client. Either way, he still had a digger-shaped hole in his wall.