CTBUH Chief Executive Officer Conducts Speaking Tour of London

Thursday, 06 December 2018 | London

LONDON – Antony Wood, CTBUH’s Chief Executive Officer, spoke at three events in his native UK at the beginning of December, and used the remaining time to meet with several key members and local chapter representatives.

The agenda began on December 4th, when Wood gave the after-dinner speech at “The Bond” dinner, a black-tie affair organized by Keltbray, an engineering firm, at which the trends and drivers influencing tall building construction were discussed.

On the 5th, after a meeting with CTBUH Chairman Steve Watts, Partner, alinea Consulting, Wood gave a presentation on CTBUH’s activities in the context of global tall building construction to alinea Consulting staff, followed by a question-and-answer session.

Wood and Watts then proceeded to a site visit of the under-construction Twentytwo, also known by its address 22 Bishopsgate. At 278 meters and 62 floors, the PLP Architecture-designed tower is set to become one of the tallest in the City of London. The tour was hosted by Paul Hargraeves, Construction Director, Lipton Rogers Developments LLP, the project’s developer.

In the evening, Wood attended the CTBUH UK Chapter Holiday Social Event, which took place at MASH Steakhouse. There were 16 people in attendance overall, reflecting the Executive Committee, Advisory Group and Future Leaders Committee of the UK Chapter. The event was kindly sponsored by Multiplex.

On Thursday the 6th, the dynamic duo of Wood and Watts paid a visit to The Shard, where they met with Samantha Rush, Head of Marketing for REM Ltd., the skyscraper’s property management company.

The journey culminated at The Glass Supper, an annual event for the architectural-glass industry produced by Intelligent Glass Solutions, a trade magazine. The elaborate dinner was hosted at the Roundhouse in Camden, an 1840s railway maintenance facility turned performance and event venue. Wood was the keynote speaker, delivering the presentation “Tall Buildings and ‘Place’: The Shortfall of Tall?”

The executive address was given by Stuart Baillie, Head of Planning for London & the Southeast at GL Hearn; while Harald Kern, executive architect of the Niemeyer Sphere in Leipzig, Germany; and Kai-Uwe Bergmann, partner at Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), delivered VIP presentations.