The biggest building in the world - done in just four years

Feb 26 2008

I CAUGHT a clip from Beijing on BBC News 24 yesterday and it made me stop in my tracks. The wraps had come off the biggest building in the world and the cameras were there to let the rest of us see inside.

It's the new international airport terminal prepared in readiness for this year's Olympics. It encloses a floor area of more than 1m sq metres and is designed to handle around 50m passengers a year by 2015.

Among the other amazing facts I caught was the rueful observation by the leading architect Sir Norman Foster that from conception to completion, the project had taken just four years – or as long as it took to arrange a public inquiry into plans for Heathrow's terminal 5.

It struck me that there is a lot to be said for having a rigorous planning regime in this country and that taking time to consider the pros and cons of developments like airports was probably no bad thing in these environmentally enlightened times.

But such is clearly not the case in China.

Tin hats off to a construction army capable of delivering this amazing building, and so many others appearing in time for the Olympiad, in such a short time.

But where does it leave the rest of a world trying to tackle climate change? On this issue, like so many others, the 2008 Olympic hosts have a different view to that of many others on the planet we all share.

I don't know if anyone has yet worked out the size of the carbon footprint created by the construction of this new airport, let alone what it will be churning out when more than 50m people a year trundle through baggage reclaim and duty free.

At the weekend I queued with many others to take a load of rubbish to my local tip near Otterspool Promenade. At the time, it occurred to me that these tips, and the various recycling points located in places like supermarket car parks, appear to be getting busier and busier each time I visit.

The impression is that more and more of us are starting to think about recycling, both at home and at work.

True, our councils are using a bit of carrot and stick psychology and a plethora of coloured wheelie bins, but we are learning.

And it's a subject that needs to be taken seriously – again at home, and at work and, dare I say it, at school.

A colleague sent me a link to an amazing animation called the Story of Stuff featuring Annie Leonard. (www.storyofstuff.com)

From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. It examines the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and urges the creation of a more sustainable world.

I'd urge you to have a look. It'll make you think and it will certainly make you laugh.

The worry is that we don't know how many people in China have seen it or even care about it. We need to take our responsibilities seriously as well, the environmental impact of us continuing to import our electronic and other goods from China will live with generations to come.

MATT JOHNSON is chief executive of Mando Group