Building Weekly Digest: 13 January

Welcome back to the first edition of the Building Weekly Digest for 2023 and what a big year it's going to be. This year marks Building's 180th anniversary and as such we have a few year-long initiatives to celebrate, including the Building the Future Commission and our From the Archives series. On top of that we've kicked off the year with some in-depth project analysis pieces looking at the restoration of the Elizabeth Tower, as well as the transformation of Nine Elms and Quintain's work at Wembley. You can dive into it all below.

Quintain’s way helps lift Wembley out of the doldrums

Earlier this week, deputy editor David Rogers was shown around the 34ha redevelopmen of Wembley by Quintain Limited chief executive James Saunders . In this piece, we get an inside look at what’s been going at the site with the famous name over the past two decades, as well as what’s to come next.

Nine Elms: How the Chinese redefined development in London

The past decade has seen the riverside area around Vauxhall transformed from a backwater to Dubai-on-Thames, with Chinese developers cutting their teeth on three major schemes. Thomas Lane?visited the Nine Elms project to see how WANDA ONE,?Dalian Wanda Group,?R&F Properties, and?CC Land Holdings do business and what it all looks like. You can read all about it here.

From the archives: A look back over Building's last 180 years

As part of our 180th anniversary celebrations, last week we launched our From the Archives series. Building, first launched as The Builder in 1843, is one of the world’s oldest trade publications.?As such, every week this year Tom Lowe will dive into issues of Building from years gone by to resurface past coverage of the construction sector. Last week, we brought you an?account of the construction of the Houses of Parliament, while this week we are exploring our magazine’s reaction to a proposal by eminent 19th century prime minister Benjamin Disraeli to publicly hang architects for designing poor buildings. Make sure to follow the series across the course of the year.

Completing the Elizabeth Tower’s reconstruction

There are few more iconic structures in London than the Elizabeth Tower and the renovation of the landmark has been one of the the standout projects of recent years. In this piece for?Building Magazine?by?Daniel Gayne, when working on the iconic Elizabeth Tower,?AECOM’s senior engineer?Matthew Penellum?found hidden Second World War damage and some serious technical challenges?– all of which made Big Ben’s bongs this new year extra special.

What does the RICS’ new board chair have in his in-tray?

As the?RICS?prepares to implement sweeping reforms following its governance scandal, new chair of the board?Martin Samworth?has a busy year ahead. Here,?Tom Lowe?looks at what is in the new chair's inbox and at what 2023 might hold.?

The Building the Future Commission is coming your way

Monday is the day. The #BuildingtheFuture Commission is officially getting under way next week and we have big plans for the year-long project. Keep your eyes peeled for lots of exciting content, including: Q&As from our impressive commissioners leading the way in the worlds of business, policy, research and education, deep dives into each of the areas of inquiry and fascinating case studies of innovative practice. In the meantime, it's been great to have the backing of leading figures such as?Wates Group's James Wates, who for decades has been calling for the construction industry to modernise and has written this piece on call for change. Make sure to keep up to date with all the action coming up here.

Thanks for reading and have a lovely weekend