Grow your own pub
This year’s best Christmas tree award might just have to go to NOMA for its eight-ton wooden sculpture designed by Hungarian architects for Manchester’s first new public square this century. The 36ft tree in Sadler’s Yard, part of Hermes and Co-operative Group’s 4m sq ft regeneration scheme, includes 85 sq ft of wood and 4.5 tons of metal plates and took five days to build. The tree will be fully recycled after Christmas and used to construct The Pilcrow, a new pub being built by hand on site. In a nod to the location’s industrial heritage, every element of the pub, from the glasses that will hold the beer to the bell that will call last orders, will be crafted using traditional skills and local labour.
Bird’s words get muddled…
CBRE’s annual press lunch is always a good opportunity for the green machine to hammer home its key messages to the attendant hacks, and this year was no different. Perhaps inspired by guest speaker Cathy Newman of Channel Four News, who has championed gender equality, UK managing director Ciaran Bird was keen to emphasise CBRE’s strong diversity credentials. Unfortunately, a slight verbal stumble had him proclaiming that 25% of CBRE’s women are… women. Diary isn’t sure about the other three-quarters, but either way, we’re clear they are CBRE’s.
…while Reynolds rings true
Speaking of women, the first REWIRE workshop took place this week, with a lesson in negotiating skills from expert Natalie Reynolds. For her excellent advice see page 100, but for the abridged version she offers these two nuggets: never start negotiations at the “piss-off point”, you will lose. And the room’s favourite? If a door closes, open it. It’s a door, that’s what they do.
U+I guitar carnage? Not quite
Always late to the party, Diary this week landed on a slogan coined by U+I on its conversion from Development Securities back in November: “You will know us by the places we create.” Now, proponents of “primordial crash-and-burn guitar carnage” – and it seems there is one on the Diary desk – will of course assume that U+I is a hotbed of fans of the American band called And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. Sadly not. It seems inspiration was drawn from You Shall Know Our Velocity, the debut novel by American author Dave Eggars. Well, it might have been a bit much to use the title of Eggars’ memoir, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.
Socket to ‘em
Club Peloton, organiser of the annual 1,000-mile Cycle to MIPIM in Cannes, brought together past ride captains and veterans to offer tips on training, bike fit, nutrition etc, for newcomers. But the best advice of the evening came from Tour de France commentator and new BFF of Club Peloton Ned Boulting: multi-socket adaptors. With the array of gadgetry property “mamils” like to buy, the best way to keep your roommate as a friend is not to hog the charging points in your hotel room. Sponsorship opportunity for Robert Dyas?
Slippery slope to vintage rave
We are well and truly into Christmas party season and Tuckerman is showing the property world how to revel off the “fat of the land”. After tearing up the slopes at Hemel Hempstead’s Snow Centre the team will then be bussing it to London to hear the Prodigy live. That’s the way to mark a good year – by raving like its 1996!
When knobs nobble hobs
Things are bigger and brasher in the US than in little old Blighty. In the private rented sector, it seems things are no different. While in the States developers are pushing the boundaries of what amenity space to include for residents – including fake fire hydrants for dogs to relieve themselves against – our burgeoning market is a little more down to earth. “We do not want knobs on our hobs,” said LaSalle Investment Management’s Andrew Stanford at a recent seminar. He was referring, of course, to how easy it is for residents to break their cookers.
What’s your star sign?
Does Darth Vader live on in the East Midlands? Is Han Solo living a double life as a commercial property agent in Nottingham? Well, not quite, but Diary was impressed with the lateral thinking by the chaps at NG Chartered Surveyors when it came to the firm marketing itself. The latest sign comes just ahead of JJ Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens hitting UK cinema screens next week. And it appears the company likes to have a bit of fun with its signage on a regular basis. Tweeting to Estates Gazette, NG explained: “We like to change our signs with the times. The rugby one went down a treat. Should do a Xmas calendar of them all!” Now there’s a thought…
