Show of green force

Summary
• Ecobuild takes place at Earls Court from March 3-5.
• This year's show is expected to attract 800 exhibitors and more than 30,000 visitors.
• TRADA is now an official supporter of Ecobuild.
• The Timber Works pavilion, introduced this year, is aimed at first-time exhibitors.

Any concerns that environmental issues may become a casualty of the economic recession must surely be dispelled by this year's Ecobuild.

The event, to be held at London's Earls Court from March 3-5, will feature 800 suppliers and is expected to attract more than 30,000 visitors – an impressive increase on last year's 500 exhibitors and 26,000 visitors, and even more impressive when, in the current climate, companies are probably more concerned with their bottom line than their carbon footprint.

The figures give justification to organiser International Business Events Ltd's claim that Ecobuild is "the world's biggest event dedicated to sustainable design, construction and the built environment" – a far cry from the first Ecobuild exhibition, billed as a small 'green building' conference, in September 2004 at The Truman Brewery in London's Brick Lane.

Timber presence

Timber companies big and small have always had a strong presence at Ecobuild and they will be out in force again this year. New for timber businesses this year is the Timber Works pavilion, an area dedicated to first-time exhibitors, which is supported by TRADA – now officially a supporter of Ecobuild, The Timber Trade Federation and wood for good. Companies that have chosen to exhibit in this area include timber frame manufacturers English Brothers Ltd, and Allwood Timber Construction; factory-finished timber window manufacturer Ambass-A-Door Windows & Doors; Brooks Bros (UK) Ltd, which will be emphasising its range of certified timbers; Drillvent (UK) Ltd, which produces a cavity vent for timber frame structures; Hoppings Softwood Products plc; James Latham plc; and timber treatment specialist Osmose. TTJ and sister title Timber & Sustainable Building will be nearby at stand 2400.

Elsewhere, visitors won’t be able to miss timber’s contribution to sustainable construction. Norbord, exhibiting at Ecobuild for the first time, will be showcasing its products through its stand. The walls will be built from Sterling OSB and the floor from Caberdek flooring, while Caberwood MDF will feature in other elements on the stand. Norbord estimates that, with timber’s carbon storing properties, 3,750kg of CO₂ has been removed from the atmosphere by the materials used to build the stand.

Another company making its Ecobuild debut is UCM Timber plc. It feature products from Lunawood, which produces heat-treated timber; Tilly, which makes engineered timber products including panels, door frames, a three-layer board and a five-layer board; and Paperstone, a surface finish made from post-consumer waste.

Code ratings

With the Code for Sustainable Homes becoming more important, Ecobuild is an ideal opportunity for manufacturers to demonstrate how timber frame achieves a code rating. Among the timber frame manufacturers is WAVE Homes, whose stand will be in the Futurebuild section of the show. Touchwood Homes Ltd and one of its supply partners, Panel Agency, which handles I-beams, glulam and specialist board products, are sharing a stand which will demonstrate structural details and cutaways to show how walls can achieve a U-value as low as 0.09W/m²K.

Visitors to the UK Timber Frame Association stand will be able to “take the timber test” to reveal interesting facts about timber frame and test their knowledge of timber frame construction.

And James Jones & Sons Ltd’s stand will be packed with timber building components. The company’s stable of products includes the FSC/BREEAM certified JJI-Joist, the JJ-Screedflo flooring system, the BJ-Beam glulam range, and the JJ-Intelliroof.

ZedFactory's updated Zero Carbon House promises to be a drawcard and is another opportunity for visitors to view timber frame in situ, while in the Natural Materials section Carpenter Oak Ltd will demonstrate timber frame jointing methods. The company will also hold a seminar on green oak structures.

Window manufacturers

The Wood Window Alliance will showcase products and services from some of its 40 members, and plenty of timber window manufacturers – Janex Ltd, NorDan, Howarth Timber (Windows & Doors) Ltd, Dendura, Rationel Windows and Fairoak Timber Products – will have their own stands too. Timber windows made from Accoya – timber enhanced through an acetylation process to give it a minimum service life of 60 years – will be displayed on BSW Timber’s stand.

Jeld-Wen will use Ecobuild to launch DreamVu, the UK’s first volume made timber window, the company says, to achieve a U-value of 0.7-1.0W/m²K.

At the centre of Ecobuild is the Arena where around 500 leading commentators on design, construction and the built environment will deliver over 100 conference and seminar sessions. As part of the seminar on saving costs with slicker supply chains, Jewson's sector director for contractors, Naithan Keeping, will tackle the role of the merchant in cutting delivery costs, while Patrick Hislop, RIBA, senior consultant architect with TRADA, will address the role of cladding in refurbishment. Other speakers include Labour’s former spin doctor Alastair Campbell, who will talk on marketing sustainability; former Tory MP?Michael Portillo who will discuss the “most important factor in reducing carbon emissions”; and Germaine Greer, who is likely to be characteristically frank addressing “Does eco have to be ugly?”

International pavilions

Ecobuild 2009 will also feature a range of international pavilions including France, Austria, Denmark and Canada. In the latter, timber will be well represented by BC Wood Specialities Group, the Forest Products Association of Canada, Québec Wood Export Bureau, and Super E house producer Alouette Homes. Austrian products on show will include cross-laminated panel construction from KLH UK Ltd; engineered wood products and glulam construction from Binderholz and Wiehag Timber Construction; timber components from Klausner; and timber frame construction from GriffnerHaus. And among the French exhibitors will be timber construction specialists Dardant Demeuria and Ardonis and wood composite deck and fence producer Silvadec.