Sustainable construction show Ecobuild rumbles into London again on March 8-10. The exhibition, still billed as the biggest of its kind in the world, will provide visitors with access to industry insights and projections relating to all aspects of the construction sector through a mix of a high-level conference, CPD-accredited learning hubs and exhibitors showcasing a wide range of new products, materials, solutions and services.

Organisers UBM are hoping to have around 800 exhibitors at the show at ExCeL, though the exhibitor list on the show website listed about 500 companies at the start of February. It’s no secret that the event has contracted in size in recent years – it had a peak of around 1,500 exhibitors in 2012. Last year’s Ecobuild attracted more than 40,000 visitors.

The volume of timber related exhibitors may have reduced but there is still an interesting range of fi rms looking to reach the professional construction audience in London when Ecobuild’s doors open.

A careful look at the exhibitor list reveals a wide range of timber industry representation – on the wood panels front there is Coillte Panel Products and Chinese manufacturers Heze Fulin Wood Products (plywood) and Dongying Zhenge Wood Products (MDF). Sawmillers include Austria’s Mayr-Melnhof and British hardwood sawmiller Vastern Timber.

Representing timber windows are Rationel Windows and Arden Windows, while aluminium/timber composite windows producers Internorm and Velfac will also be in attendance.

Timber construction is the biggest wood sector represented. The Structural Timber Association will be fl ying the fl ag for timber frame, with exhibitors including SchwörerHaus KG, oak frame producer Carvalo, ELK, Eco Homes Direct, Val-UTherm and Halodome, as well as several Structural Insulated Panel (SIPS) suppliers. Other notable companies include JJ Smith Woodworking Machinery and compressed straw board technology producer Stramit International. Travis Perkins and Saint- Gobain also have stands.

TIMBER SEMINARS

A number of dedicated timber seminars will take place on the opening day of Ecobuild 2016. These include ‘Faster, greener, cheaper – making the most of wood in construction’ and talks from Charlie Law, of Sustainable Construction Solutions Ltd and Grown in Britain, Andrew Waugh, of Waugh Thistleton, and Simon Pearson, studio director, Glenn Howells Architects.

TRADA will once again be participating with an impressive stand dubbed the TRADA Timber Interactive Learning Zone. The leading authority on timber will host a ‘Timber Surgery’ covering some of the most popular timber topics in engineering and timber frame, including EC5, connections, CLT, glulam, engineered wood products, timber cladding and species ID.

In addition, there will be opportunities to discuss its National Structural Timber Specifi cation with experts on the stand. Representatives from TRADA’s Bookshop team will be on hand to discuss all of its latest publications, while visitors will also see the fruits of an exciting annual design competition with Oxford Brookes and Timbmet.

TRADA is expecting a busy show, not least because of the launch of its latest publication ‘Hybrid Construction’, which looks at a number of mixed material construction (timber and steel) projects and explores the effectiveness of the buildings created as a solution.

Its morning seminar session will focus on timber engineering, and will be led by TRADA experts Keerthi Ranasinghe and Hugh Mansfi eld-Williams; the afternoon session will focus on timber frame, cladding and species ID and will be led by timber frame specialists Lewis Taylor and Robin Lancaster.

LEARNING HUB

Ecobuild 2016 will also feature six CPDaccredited learning hubs; Building Performance, Design, Energy, #BuildCircular, Infrastructure Revolution and Digital Building.

The programme will be delivered by industry leading fi gures and organisations including Architype, Glenn Howells Architects, Marks & Spencer, British Land, Jones Lang LaSalle, BRE, ICE, Zero Carbon Hub and Willmott Dixon Energy Services.

The #BuildCircular hub includes an exploration into the barriers to timber and steel re-use in construction and how these can be overcome and a panel discussion entitled ‘can we, and should we build with end of life in mind?’

How to make the most of timber will be discussed at the Design hub’s ‘faster, greener, cheaper’ seminar, chaired by David Hopkins, managing director of the Timber Trade Federation.