With a legacy of championing innovation and collaboration in the built environment, Futurebuild celebrates its 18th year shaping a more sustainable and resilient construction industry 5-7 March at London’s ExCeL and will have plenty to interest the offsite sector.
Futurebuild 2024 will be no different, with the overarching theme ‘Take a Stand for Change’, to encourage industry leaders and professionals to engage in collective action for the pursuit of positive change.
Increasing the inspiration
The Futurebuild conference, curated by The Edge and sponsored by Soprema and One Click LCA, is a highly respected gathering of influential innovators and collaborators tackling the industry’s problems head on with the aim to ‘collaborate for a just transition’. It stems from the industry-wide need for a clear delivery programme with non-negotiable dates to build confidence amongst clients and investors. The three daily themes for the conference are: Pathways to change, Levers for change and Sharing visons for change. Featuring a line-up of the who’s who of the built and natural environment, guests for 2024 include: Smith Mordak, Chief Executive, UKGBC, Muyiwa Oki, President, RIBA and Sara Edmonds, Co-director, National Retrofit Hub plus many more.
The conference will cover a multitude of topics, reaching every corner of the industry. Key seminars include: Net zero housing: the quality-affordability conundrum, chaired by Catherine Adams, Director of Building Systems and Net Zero at the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities; Water – one of our most critical infrastructure challenges, chaired by Catherine Wenger, UK, India, Middle East and Africa Water Business Lead at Arup, and The Role of Education in Climate Awareness, chaired by Django Perks, from Teach the Future.
Scaling up high-quality retrofit
Futurebuild has partnered with The National Retrofit Academy to launch The National Retrofit Conference, which will take place alongside Futurebuild 2024. Sponsored by Sustainable Building Services UK (Ltd) and curated by The Retrofit Academy, the National Retrofit Conference will bring together visionaries and industry leaders to focus on a crucial mission – decarbonising our existing housing stock.
The three day conference will focus on Skills, Innovation and Policy and provide the practical solutions that attendees can take away to drive their retrofit programmes forward, with a line-up of speakers that includes thought leaders from inside and outside of the sector. Seminars across the three days include: Leadership on Retrofit from Local Authorities, Cities and Regions, chaired by David Pierpoint, Chief Executive at The Retrofit Academy; Retrofit Design at Scale, chaired by Loreana Pardon, Head of Sustainability at ECD Architects and Engaging on Retrofit; Getting Communication Right, chaired by Sara Edmonds, Co-Director at National Retrofit Hub.
More than just a conference
As well as the two conferences, Futurebuild the industry’s largest exhibition, featuring over 400 innovative brands and six stages that will host 500+ industry-leading speakers across sections FutureX Innovation, Buildings, Energy, Materials, Sustainable Infrastructure and Digital. Each section contains its own seminar stage, addressing the biggest challenges facing the built environment and spotlighting the latest trends. The knowledge programme has been made possible with the help and support of our event sponsors and partners, including ASBP, Good Homes Alliance, 540 World, Passivhaus Trust and the Finishes and Interiors Sector (FIS).
Embracing innovation
As the industry platform for innovation, Futurebuild has continued to partner with game-changing brands. Follow our Innovation Trail to meet our Innovation Partners: Advantage Austria, NexGen, MKc Training Services Ltd, Bauder, the Concrete Centre, Tepeo, Sugastune UK Ltd, SDS Limited, Qvantum, Mixergy Limited, LKAB Minerals Limited, Glen Dimplex Heating and Ventilation, Curv360 Limited, Aico, 540 World and Kensa.
The FutureX Innovation section is an exciting zone that showcases start-ups and SME’s innovative ideas and technologies that will make net zero possible. It contains The Big Innovation Pitch, a visitor highlight, which sees the people and companies with the newest and brightest ideas for decarbonising the industry take part in an exciting Dragon’s Den style presentation battle, all in front of a live audience.
On Tuesday 5 March, Carbon Trust, Innovate UK and DESNZ will be taking over the Future X Innovation stage for a whole day of content titled: FutureX Heat Takeover – innovation to decarbonise heat works for everyone. As three of the UK’s biggest drivers on innovation they have carefully curated a seminar programme for the day including: Design Matters! Improving the survey, design, and installation process of low-carbon heating technologies, chaired by Becky Lane, CEO at Furbnow: Working Smarter, Not Harder – How smart and flexible heating systems can improve performance and the customer experience, and Up-front Costs to Retrofit: How to deal with the elephant in the room.
During the FutureX Heat Takeover, the organisations will be showcasing a range of projects funded through the government’s £1billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP) such as the Heat Pump Ready programme, Green Home Finance Accelerator and more. The section will be hosting an innovation café, allowing visitors to network and engage with industry experts.
As well as an invigorating line up of knowledge building seminars, there are several fringe events and exhibits that are a must visit. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) pop-up bookshop returns for another year, where you can browse carefully selected titles, meet the authors and chat with them about the newest industry developments. There is a Futurebuild bar, sponsored by Natural Building Systems, where you can take part in interactive design challenges, workshops and discussions, all whilst enjoying a drink.
Futurebuild 2024, where we ask industry leaders, visionaries, and enthusiasts to come together to foster an exchange of ideas, embrace innovation, and collaboratively craft the blueprint for a bright and more sustainable tomorrow.
For more information, to register and view the full programme visit: www.futurebuild.co.uk
Source: Offsite magazine issue 41
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