The annual Futurebuild event has evolved significantly from its original Ecobuild roots and stretched the format even further away from any other ‘building’ show that you’re likely to find in exhibition spaces all over the country.

Choosing the theme of ‘climate emergency’ for the 2020 edition it was clear that even if every attendee, exhibitor and speaker didn’t gen up on the subject beforehand, they would certainly go away with addressing climate change firmly in their professional sights.

With no fewer than a dozen separate stages or showcase areas there was plenty of scope for everyone and anyone in the sector to have their say on climate change, put forward their ideas and demonstrate their innovations. Speakers ranged from a member of Extinction Rebellion right through to MPs and CEOs of large companies, with many of the keynote sessions being standing room only.

Having all this surrounded by stands promoting products as day-to-day as double glazing and laminate flooring hints that the show is still trying to forge its true identity.

Nevertheless, it was worth a visit if you have an eye on future developments and opportunities that a changing landscape and developing customer demands might offer.

New for 2020 was The Innovation Trail featuring 20 stands, which displayed the most innovative solutions for the built environment and was billed as an opportunity “for leading specifiers and decision makers to explore revolutionary products, solutions and materials”. If you visited all 20 you got the chance to win a bike.

Also innovative was the fact that every entry ID badge contained an NFC chip that could be used to swipe a reader placed on each stand you visited. This registered your interest and allowed you to receive the relevant information and promo materials later, digitally of course. Gone are the days of lugging around myriad carrier bags stuffed full of printed matter.

One of the Innovation Trail participants was engineered wood specialist Steico. “Futurebuild is a good place where we can get in front of the customer,” said technical manager, Martin Twamley. “It’s where architects, specifiers and home builders can come and talk to us direct, meet us face-toface and realise that we’re all about doing what’s right for the construction industry and trying to provide solutions that benefit the homeowner at the end of the day.”

Steico was also promoting its ‘Green Leaf Campaign’ in conjunction with the Timber Trade Federation and TRADA. The campaign assists specifiers and builders to commit to the use of more natural materials in the pursuit of healthier buildings. The arena programme opened with a packed crowd listening to eminent speakers from industry, government and academia discussing why we need to put the planet first. Baroness Brown of Cambridge, deputy chair of the Committee on Climate Change, began with an impassioned declaration that, with key environmental performance continuing to decline, government needs to do more and be held more accountable.

Professor Andy Purvis, research leader in Life Sciences at the Natural History Museum, highlighted some shocking facts to bring the scale of the ecological and environmental crisis to life – including that one million animal and plant species are at risk of final extinction. Prof Purvis ended on the crucial point that we still have the opportunity to take steps to counteract the damage that has already been done.

The Passivhaus Superstars session on the Buildings Keynote Stage explored three high profile ‘superstar’ projects including the RIBA Stirling Prize winning Goldsmith Street. James Turner from Mikhail Riches, the architects behind the project, described Passivhaus as buildings being built well and closing the performance gap.

The final Arena session brought together key representatives from built and natural environment institutions and associations including the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists, Institution of Civil Engineers, the Society for the Environment and Royal Institute of British Architects, among others.

Chaired by BBC environment analyst, Roger Harrabin, the panel set out their contributions to achieving net zero carbon over the next five years.

“To achieve net zero carbon by 2030, a provision of regulations and standards are required as a matter of urgency,” said Eddie Weir, CIAT president. “These standards are not just for the environmentally conscious but we are advocating them to all our clients now.”

The trade show itself hosted a plethora of stands from companies offering products as diverse as water catchment systems to solar heating to complete construction solutions. The timber trade was represented quite admirably by the likes of TRADA, the Structural Timber Association (STA) and Steico demonstrating the positive benefits that timber can add to any construction development.

Timber Specialists

There were several other notable timber specialists exhibiting at the show promoting the use of wood in construction Accoya had its now customary display of modified timber constantly immersed in water to demonstrate its properties for outdoor use.

Similarly, Hoppings Softwood Products had its SmartFrame structural timber for outdoor use with an expected 30-year life complemented by SmartBoard wood-plastic composite (WPC) boards for cladding and decking. Ecodek was another company displaying WPC solutions alongside its aluminium decking.

A handful of completely timber-framed specialists were on hand to promote the fully timber philosophy: Roe Timberframe, Walker Timber Engineering and Liskandas offered the complete solution from design right through to construction. Joint Norwegian/Lithuanian company Liskandas is new to the UK market and was keen to showcase its extensive portfolio of innovative building designs in Scandinavia and eastern Europe.

Glulam Solutions Ltd highlighted the use of engineered timber in both residential and commercial properties, showing that spans of up to 100m could be achieved with glulam.

The Belarussian Forestry Company (BFC) was representing BORWOOD, a grouping of 12 Belarussian specialist timber companies.

BFC manufactures and supplies board products such as MDF, chipboard, laminate flooring, furniture boards and plywood. For individual components of a timber build, Italian firm Rotho Blass had a range of fixings, membranes, safety systems and woodworking tools.

Meanwhile, Bespoke Windows Solutions offered a range of timber windows including a traditional sash design.

Piveteaubois from France displayed its extensive range of softwood timber products, which included timber frame, cladding, decking, fencing and wood pellets for the energy sector.

TFT Woodexperts highlighted its technical training for the entire timber industry. Operating as a consultancy it can also offer solutions for the construction industry looking to use timber in any project.