Building Weekly Digest - 23 February 2024

There's been a lot behind the headlines at Building this week, and below we've run through some of the biggest stories of the week. You can explore the new Co-op Live venue, hear from a Stirling Prize winner, and find out about exciting plans to reinvent a London landmark.

‘A nightclub on a massive scale’: touring Populous’ ￡365m Co-op Live arena

Soon to be the UK’s biggest indoor music venue when it opens in April, the 23,500-seat Manchester behemoth is an impressive site. In this piece, Tom Lowe has a look around Co-op Live and speaks to the Co-op Group team, Bianca Binder principal at Populous and Turner & Townsend 's Daniel Howarth . Have a look for yourself here.

Alex Ely: ‘Architecture is so central to our culture - it’s a pity it doesn’t seem to gain the traction it deserves’

In this feature interview, the founder of the Stirling Prize-winning M? Architects shares his influences and inspirations with architectural editor Ben Flatman and concludes that his profession still has much to offer. It is clear that, while winning the Stirling came as welcome recognition for those long years of hard work and commitment, there is no indication that Ely regards the prize as an end point in itself. Rather, he hopes to use the moment to move the practice in new directions. Read more here.

Heatherwick to transform BT Tower after ￡275m sale to US hotel chain

There was big news for a London landmark this week, with the announcement Heatherwick studio will work with the new American owner of the BT Tower to transform it into a hotel.? The 英国电信集团 announced that it was selling the iconic communications structure in central London to MCR Hotels , the third largest hotel owner-operator in the US for ￡275m. The group will take several years to vacate the premises.

Work on HS2 viaduct paused for ‘urgent remediation’

Work on HS2 (High Speed Two) Ltd ’s Colne Valley Viaduct has been set back a week after a misalignment was spotted within the most recently completed span. A recent letter from Align JV , the joint venture responsible for the 3.4km bridge in Hillingdon, warned local residents about night-time noise this week as concrete is broken out to allow engineers to fix the problem.?Read more about the beleaguered scheme's latest issue here.

Upcoming events

There's plenty going on in our events calendar at the moment. Next month we will be hosting the latest instalments of our virtual Risk & Regulations Live and Housing Today Live events. In April we head to Manchester for our 'Beyond the surface: An examination of building envelopes through architectural case studies', event in partnership with Carlisle Construction Materials . All the events are CPD-certified and are free to attend. Explore the agendas now.

From the newsdesk

Our journalists have been hard at it this week - take a look at some of our biggest news stories below.

• Turnover and staff numbers up as T&T Alinea profits from new markets in debut year
• Developer working on plans for seven-towers scheme opposite O2 Arena
• Three chasing ￡90m Broadgate Tower overhaul for British Land
• As Manchester United’s new investor looks at Old Trafford rebuild, questions begin over who would do it
• Nervous clients want to see contractors’ balance sheets before signing up, Morgan Sindall boss says

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!