Lego, sustainable cocktails and the minster for energy and climate change were just three UBM stand highlights on day one of Ecobuild yesterday.

The event kicked off on the stand with a discussion chaired by 好色先生TV鈥檚 brand director Tom Broughton on the new Great Portland Estates development 鈥� 240 Blackfriars 鈥� which is set to become UBM鈥檚 new headquarters.

James Pellatt from GPE was joined by Mark Castle from Mace, Simon Allford from AHMM and David Levin from UBM to talk bricks, mortar and BIM. During the course of the discussion, Allford hinted that the building could be nicknamed 鈥淭he Crystal鈥�. Several eagle eyed industry folk have pointed out that this is already the other appellation of the Siemens Sustainability Hub building in Royal Victoria Docks so we鈥檒l just have to wait and see whether it sticks. If not, suggestions on Twitter perhaps?!

Other events on the stand included a drinks reception to officially launch Ecobuild China and Ecobuild India, 好色先生TV鈥檚 Technical Editor Thomas Lane鈥檚 unveiling of the highlights from the Sustainability White Paper and Giles Barrie鈥檚 interview with Quintain chief executive Adrian Wyatt.
 
Then there was the Lego. Around 18,000 pieces of it 鈥� and all for charity. Over the three-day Ecobuild event, UBM will be inviting delegates to help realise a Ken Shuttleworth design in Lego as we raise money for the oldest charity in China 鈥� the Chinese Children and Teenagers Fund.
 
The founder of Make has been working on the project with his team for the last three weeks to exclusively launch a model of his design for Bamboo Village.
 
Ken launched the designs on the UBM stand yesterday and will close the project at 15:00 on Thursday. So there is still time to join the likes of Minster for Energy and Climate Change Greg Barker and UBM CEO David Levin and pledge to build a floor for 拢10.

The finished model will then be transported to Ecobuild China before being dismantled and sent to the children supported by the charity for them to build their own version of Bamboo Village.

Finally 鈥� we鈥檙e still on the hunt for Lego pandas. If anyone out there can confirm their existence and let us know how to source them within 24 hours 鈥� let me know!
 
Emily.wright@ubm.com