CJ Construction Blog

Want to know what Ray O'Rourke, chairman of Laing O'Rourke, thinks about things? Whether he believes the 2012 Olympics will be built in time? Or whether he believes Laing O'Rourke will continue to win all work in its path? Find out more by listening to our exclusive Contract Journal webcast featuring Ray O'Rourke speaking at the Chartered Institute of Building annual dinner.

And are you interested in whether architects in the UK will continue with the current fashion for high rise buildings? This BBC website article is well worth a read.
Liverpool is the latest city to unveil proposals (pictured above) to build big and build high. The £5.5bn plan for its famous waterfront includes more than 50 high rise buildings, some more than 50 storeys.
In Leeds and Manchester, planners have rubber-stamped proposals for skyscrapers which will be just short of 200m. Further down the line, a 280-metre observation tower has been mooted for Birmingham. Whatever you think of skyscrapers, with rising land values and a shortage of land to build on, they are surely just going to become more common. But does that mean developing new skills within the construction industry? Email us with your views.