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Executive Board’s Report 2008

Denise Chevin (editor, Building, and President of IBP) presents Peter Murray (director of the London Festival of Architecture) with his honorary membership. The presentation took place before more than a hundred guests at the IBP Summer Dinner, where Gerald Bowey (CEO of ibp Services) praised Murray for his outstanding work in bringing such a vibrant and comprehensive Festival to London. Peter is a former Chairman and President of IBP and his presentation with the coveted IBP Mont Blanc pen recognises his contribution and continued support.
Denise Chevin (editor, Building, and President of IBP) presents Peter Murray (director of the London Festival of Architecture) with his honorary membership. The presentation took place before more than a hundred guests at the IBP Summer Dinner, where Gerald Bowey (CEO of ibp Services) praised Murray for his outstanding work in bringing such a vibrant and comprehensive Festival to London. Peter is a former Chairman and President of IBP and his presentation with the coveted IBP Mont Blanc pen recognises his contribution and continued support.

The following are extracts from the Report presented on behalf of the executive Board of IBP by Gerald Bowey, CEO IBP Services.

During 2007/8 we continued to develop partnerships with other like minded organizations: Art in Architecture with International Art Consultants; IBP Little Black Book Event in association with CAPSIG; the London Festival of Architecture IBP editors’ forum) The All Party Parliamentary Built Environment Group The Housing Crisis, Speculation or Innovation), The Wapping Trust Art and Work Awards.

In March this year IBP held its first focus group meeting at MIPIM, in association with Gardiner & Theobald, which took an international look at Marketing Architecture in a Changing World.

The first of the 2008 crop of Awards were presented by Patience Wheatcroft, former editor of The Sunday Telegraph, at the Annual Summer Dinner at the RAC Club with a reception hosted again by BDP.

Chairman of the judges Giles Barrie, editor of Property Week said “We saw a wide range of entries, from the typical contractor’s in- house journal to some innovative attempts from PR firms like TTA to engage in an interesting debate with their clients. However, the winner, Vinci plc’s Societe, has produced a useful, pocket-sized design and above all a focus on sustainability that speaks volumes for this sector of the contracting world.”

“The Award for subscription magazine of the year was incredibly close fought, with two recent winners at the Pan-Magazine Publishing Periodical Publishers Association Awards to the fore. First a highly commended went to PPA Editor’s Award Antony Oliver’s New Civil Engineer. However, our winner, for the second year running, was also the winner of the PPA monthly magazine of the year category Building Services Journal. The judges were unanimous in their praise of its bold critique of signature architecture and, of course, how it has made building services sexy through a huge emphasis on sustainability.” The CIOB’s international magazine, Icon, also picked up a highly commended for positioning a serious and informative magazine in only eighteen months.

Like the National, Regional and Website Awards the IBP Magazine Awards are designed to acknowledge and reward good journalism and particularly focus on the ‘best of the best’. Not an easy task for the judges, sitting on the panels.

Last October the third season of the IBP Regional Journalism Awards, with Jim Hancock, former North West BBC Political Correspondent, presenting, proved to be another resounding success, with entries up by a third and the audience attending the Awards lunch, at the Lowry Gallery in Manchester, doubling from the first year.

Awards went to: The Guardian, the Manchester Evening News, North West Business Insider, Regeneration & Renewal and Property Week.

Last November’s Annual National Journalism Awards continued to be well supported by both journalists, sponsors and the industry. We presented the IBP Website of the Year Award, for the second year, to recognized good journalism on the electronic media super highway. A capacity audience attended with David Meara, Rector of St Bride’s Fleet Street, handing out the Awards.

The launch of an International Journalist of the Year Award, open to property and design titles, is due to take place in the London Pavilion at MIPIM 2009, with the support of Pipers Projects. Sponsors are being actively sought to support this important IBP Award development.

Our tenth annual IBP Journalists v PR’s cricket match, sponsored by stone experts Szerelmey, took place at Thames Ditton in June with the PR’s winning, for two consecutive years with a comfortable 18 runs. My thanks go to team captains, Dave Rogers (Construction News) and Andy Walker (ACE) while David Helsen continues to organise the whole day with efficiency, style and good nature.

Your executive board (see full listing attached) continues to oversee the events and ‘new’ initiatives that IBP takes forward on an annual basis – they should all be congratulated on the very positive way in which they work together and contribute to the meetings, after putting in a full days work.

Our President Denise Chevin, editor Building, quietly keeps an eye on IBP’s initiatives (and me) while ensuring that all the events associated with IBP are of the highest quality and relevance to our industry. Denise takes us into IBP’s 40th Anniversary next year; incidentally IBP was established in 1969 by the then editor of The Builder, (now Building), Ian Leslie.

I hope that by highlighting these few examples of the IBP 2006/7 programme that I have given you some idea of the focus of the Organisation. Of course these and other IBP events are reported and archived on the website for your further interest. Do take a look sometime.

I have said this every year and I make no apology for repeating it yet again here. You do not have to sit on the executive board to participate in any of these initiatives or indeed to come up with an idea, or to recruit a new member into IBP.

IBP will only continue to function and be of use to us all if we are providing the things that interest us. I would however suggest that it is in the interests of all members to participate, by coming to events, by encouraging debate and bringing different ideas to what IBP stands for. Some of the partnerships I have outlined above clearly demonstrate that IBP can contribute to the wider on-going debates constantly taking place in our sector.