Futurebuild – the built environment event that’s championed sustainable construction for the past 16 years – will return to the ExCeL London from March 1–3, 2022, with an Offsite Section giving visitors the opportunity to meet with leading offsite construction professionals.
As longstanding partners and publishers of Offsite Magazine and Offsite Hub and organisers of Offsite Expo and Offsite Awards — the Explore Offsite team will partner with Futurebuild to give visitors a comprehensive and contemporary perspective of this rapidly evolving sector. Other leading partners, such as the trade association for UK precast concrete manufacturers and members of the supply chain, MPA British Precast, the Structural Timbers Association (STA) and the Light Steel Frame Association (LSFA) will also explore the use of offsite technology to effectively construct a better and more sustainable environment.
“Futurebuild champions a sustainable built environment by cultivating cross sector collaboration and working with experts in their field, such as Cogent Consulting and Explore Offsite,” explained Martin Hurn event director at Futurebuild. “Offsite construction will be a key player in reducing emissions, delivering more sustainable structures and helping us to reach net zero goals. This partnership will enable us to accelerate change, giving visitors the opportunity to interact with these game-changing technologies and processes.”
Futurebuild 2022’s accompanying world-class knowledge programme will feature leading UK and international offsite manufacturers and thought leaders from all aspects of the offsite arena. Attendees can see presentations from a range of suppliers specialising in broad spectrum of panelised, volumetric modular, pod and prefabricated mechanical, electrical and plumbing solutions. The Offsite Seminar Sessions will explore the use of offsite technology to effectively construct a better, sustainable environment. The presentations will also show how the industry can respond to unprecedented demand through greater investment in lean manufacturing systems.
“We often find that built environment professionals know what to do to reduce emissions, they now need to know how to do it and how to do it at scale,” adds Martin Hurn. “By featuring speakers who are pioneers in sustainability, visitors have the opportunity to learn from practical examples and case studies that they can use to create their own action plans.”
Leading partner, Advanced Industrialised Methods for the Construction of Homes (AIMCH), will present at the offsite stage about the key outcomes from its three-year project. Mark Farmer, Chair of AIMCH will discuss how AIMCH is transforming how we build homes and share its outcomes and learnings to educate the industry. AIMCH focuses on how prototyping, future factory planning, technology and standardisation can help tackle industry challenges, such as skills shortages, an ageing workforce and low affordability.
Visitors can also attend a talk on volumetric modular buildings from the Modular and Portable Building Association (MPBA), which explores how a confused construction chain could be slowing construction progress. By removing the complexity of modern construction methods, industry consultants can accurately report on the embodied carbon figures that are relevant to each business and compare these against more traditional construction methods. Richard Hipkiss, Development Director at MPBA, will consider if volumetric modular buildings can deliver a net zero future for construction. His colleague, Andy King, Chair at MPBA, will discuss a manufacturer’s perspective on the volumetric building sector and how carbon can be embodied to improve net zero practices.
BRE will speak about the importance of volumetric module accurate testing. Without supporting evidence, structural tests on a single building section or in a test laboratory cannot predict structural behaviours of a fullscale building. Right now, it is not clear whether significant changes can occur between the testing techniques and reality if results are too conservative or not conservative enough. The seminar will discuss in an open forum the state-of-the-art knowledge about the similarities and differences between a module’s structural static and dynamic behaviours and buildings constructed using combinations of linked modules. Taking place from March 1 – 3 2022, Futurebuild will connect specifiers, decision makers and disruptors with major brands and start-ups, attracting over 20,000 senior professionals from across the built environment. As the home of innovation, the event is the perfect opportunity for the industry to meet and collaborate, to achieve the transformational change needed if the built environment is going to reach net zero.
To discover more about the Offsite Section in partnership with Cogent Consulting and Explore Offsite, visit: www.futurebuild.co.uk/offsite
