Timber on show

This year's Ecobuild, at London's ExCel from March 4-6, looks set to be a smaller show than previous years, but timber will still be well-represented.

Organiser UBM said around 750 exhibitors will be at the show, compared with just over 1,000 last year, and it expects 45,000 visitors, compared with 43,542 "professionals" in 2013. And amongst those exhibitors, timber plays its part, UBM said.

"Timber had always been a vital element in terms of Ecobuild's offering because of its use in sustainable construction and as a source of renewable energy," said group director of sustainability and construction Alison Jackson.

"Such a versatile material lends itself to creating some very interesting exhibits." Over the years timber has created plenty of interesting exhibits and major structures at Ecobuild, and this year is no exception.

Ongreening, a new global initiative focusing on green building and sustainability, will create an 80m² timber pavilion. The lattice structure will include a "green lounge" where visitors can take a rest from the show, and it will also host screenings of Ongreening's interviews with inspiring green thinkers and a showcase of innovative sustainable projects and best practices.

Pasquill, which has created engineered timber structures for past shows, will this year be included in parent company Saint-Gobain's stand. A seminar theatre on the stand will host hourly sessions led by organisations such as the Construction Industry Training Board, Zero Carbon Hub and the Passivhaus Trust.

Coillte Panel Products will return to Ecobuild with its award-winning stand. The company unveiled the structure, made from SmartPly OSB and Medite MDF, at Ecobuild last year. There it won the UK Green Building Council Most Sustainable Stand award, and at Timber Expo in September it went on to win the Best Custom Built Stand.

The company emphasises the message that it can grow its own stand, using timber from Coillte's forests to produce its panel products.

This year at Ecobuild the stand will feature some new additions. "Medite Trade has not yet been seen at Ecobuild," said Medite MDF sales manager Nick Marron. "It is new to the market; a cost-effective, general purpose MDF panel for a wide range of construction and design projects."

Medite Trade has a lower density than Medite Premier, making it suitable for many interior applications.

Woodworking machinery supplier JJ Smith has exhibited at Ecobuild for around six years and finds it so worthwhile it is returning again.

"We continue to find that Ecobuild provides us with an opportunity to meet existing and potential customers from across a wide spectrum. Whilst it does cover a wide area, we find that customers do seek us out and visit our booth," said managing director Martin Smith. "This year, we will continue to focus on our machinery and equipment for the offsite industry, as well as offering new solutions for the waste recovery market."

Industry lunches
Another regular exhibitor is the Structural Timber Association, which will again host two industry lunches.

"For the past two years we've held these key industry lunches at Ecobuild, and they continue to prove very successful," said chairman Lawrence Young. "The feedback from previous attendees has confirmed that they were both informative and valuable, and also offer great networking opportunities.

"As ever, our aim for Ecobuild is to raise awareness of the benefits of structural timber to the rest of the construction industry, and to ensure that we are providing the products and supply chain that our customers need."

Steico, another exhibitor stalwart, will present its range of engineered products, including Steico I-joists, Steico LVL and glulam.

The company says it is the largest supplier of I-joists in Europe and its I-joists are specified for large roof projects, wall systems and complete structures.

Steico also offers wood fibre insulation and a range of panel products in the UK, including P5 T&G flooring, Weather Dek, Weather Protect and spruce flooring. Hardboard, OSB and MDF are recent additions.

Several years ago, modified timber manufacturer Kebony exhibited at Ecobuild to launch itself as a brand on the European market and since then, said international sales director Adrian Pye, the show has been a useful source of contacts in the architectural, construction and timber sectors.

"The show is also ideally suited for Kebony as it is not specifically focused on timber products but has a broader environmental agenda. This is useful because it means Kebony reaches a wider audience but also is able to communicate with and position itself alongside other eco-brands," said Mr Pye.

Impregnated foam sealant manufacturer ISO-Chemie will exhibit its range of tapes for acoustic and airtight insulation, while Black Millwork will feature its range of timber and aluminium windows, as well as Andersen Windows, for which it is the sole UK distributor.

For those who want to take time out from visiting stands, there will be a play area in the central boulevard between the two exhibition halls. Timberplay, which is providing the equipment, will also have an exhibition stand where it will display its products made from larch and robinia.

"In terms of a material for play, wood cannot be beaten," said the company.

There's never any shortage of discussions at Ecobuild and this year the TRADA Timber Seminar Theatre will host seminars throughout the three days of the show.

Wood First Plus launch
The programme includes Wood for Good unveiling Wood First Plus, billed as the world's largest online database of life cycle assessment information on timber and timber products. The launch takes place at 10am on March 5.

The project will create a free online information hub of environmental and design data, and in particular focus on providing generic LCA datasets for key timber products used in the UK.

"The aim of Wood First Plus is to provide empirical evidence on the impacts and performance of wood products, making it easier for construction professionals to demonstrate the benefits of doing so," said Wood for Good project director David Hopkins.

In the second phase of the project Wood for Good will commission visual LCA studies for whole buildings.

TRADA's seminar programme also includes Ramboll's Gavin White talking about cross-laminated timber; Tim Snelson from Arup will present a case study of a four-storey commercial office in London; and Sylva Group's Craig Strachan will provide an update on Part L. During a Question Time session on each day of Ecobuild the audience takes part by tweeting their questions during the seminars to @TRADA_ with the hashtag #TRADAQT.

Also, TRADA's Lewis Taylor will turn quizmaster, hosting a series of six quick quizzes where audience members will be invited to identify timber species, cut and grade, with a prize for each winner.

Another focal point on TRADA's stand will be the Dan Kemp Memorial Pavilion. The competition, sponsored by Timbmet, is run in conjunction with Oxford Brookes School of Architecture and this year's brief was to design a 'flatpaxton' kiosk/pavilion to reflect an in-depth study of the 'ghosts' of Crystal Palace Park. Visitors will be able to interact with this year's winning design by Chris Waters.

The Wood Awards are also returning to Ecobuild this year. The stand will launch the 2014 call for entries and feature an exhibition of the 30 entries shortlisted in last year's competition.

"Our aim is to inspire as many people as we can to consider and use wood in their designs, and we encourage those who already do to enter," said David Venables, European director of the American Hardwood Export Council, which sponsors the awards.

Seminar programme
Timber will also feature in the show's extensive seminar programme, although it is perhaps not as prominent as in previous years.

Among the seminars that may be of interest to the timber industry are "Near-zero nondomestic building - the best approach" on the first morning of the show. This session examines the imperatives to design and construct cost-effective, energy-efficient nondomestic buildings. Speakers will consider the benefits of a fabric first approach to design, and examine the role of technologies in creating energy-efficient buildings.

In the afternoon in a session on Passivhaus, Mark Elton, a partner at sustainableBYdesign, will talk about using prefabricated timber in retrofit projects.

In the seminar entitled "Responsible sourcing, sustainable supply chains and product substitution", Gary Newman of the Association of Sustainable Products will give his thoughts on timber's sustainability credentials under the subject heading "Timber - a low carbon and sustainable material? Not necessarily!"

Timber will also no doubt feature in the show's conference programme and two sessions on the last day may be of particular interest - "Zero carbon by 2016 - can it be done with traditional build methods?"; and "Nature - market opportunity or legislative burden?"

Saint-Gobain chairman and CEO Pierre- André de Chalendar is one of the speakers in the session "Maximising building performance - could product manufacturers do more?".

Ecobuild visitors will also have access to Resource, a new show running alongside. Billed as a major event for the "circular economy", it will focus on better use of resources.

Organizer leads by example
As an event that's all about sustainability, Ecobuild is striving to demonstrate its own green credentials by achieving ISO 20121 Sustainable Events Management System certification.

"Being the leading sustainable construction and design event, we must be at the forefront of sustainability ourselves and walk the talk," said group director of sustainability and construction Alison Jackson. "We recognise the social and environmental impacts of our activities as organisers of Ecobuild and ISO 20121 can help to manage this impact."

The organisers aim to reduce the show's carbon footprint by better management of resources and sourcing more sustainable options. They will also reduce the event's waste, first by trying to cut the amount generated, and then by increasing the proportion of waste which is recycled.

"One change we have made already is the way we will build the show, changing the design of our shell scheme stands to reduce material use. In addition, we will build as many features as we can with recycled and recyclable material," said Ms Jackson.

The organisers are encouraging exhibitors also to be mindful when building their stands, and the UK Green Building Council will again be presenting its Sustainable Stand awards.

Increasing the show's impact in the community is also a priority and the Ecobuild team is developing several initiatives, including its partnership with CRASH, the construction and property industry charity for the homeless.