Leading international construction materials company Saint-Gobain has enjoyed another hugely successful year at Ecobuild. All three of its exhibition areas experienced high levels of interest from show visitors and its corporate stand was named runner-up in the UK Green Building Council’s Sustainable Stand Awards for the most sustainable stand over 100m².
Attracting over 60,000 people across three days, the exhibition provided a comprehensive overview of Saint-Gobain’s offer. Saint-Gobain Abrasives, Saint-Gobain Glass, British Gypsum, Ecophon, Saint-Gobain Isover, Saint-Gobain PAM, Pasquill, Saint-Gobain Glassolutions, Saint-Gobain Solar and Weber all exhibited on the corporate stand, which had hundreds of visitors.
A wide range of systems were showcased on the 225m² stand, demonstrating how various products from Saint-Gobain’s UK companies work together to help achieve sustainable construction. Solutions on display included internal, separating and external wall systems for timber, steel and masonry new build and refurbishment construction, room-in-the-roof and ceiling solutions, as well as glazing and pipe products for both residential and commercial applications.
Visitors were also able to watch live demonstrations and presentations on the Fabric First area, which proved a real hit with the crowds. It helped visitors understand how building fabric improvements can interface with each other to achieve theoretical performance levels on site, not just meeting existing Building Regulations but future-proofing against the more stringent Fabric Energy Efficiency Standard (FEES) set out in the 2016 zero carbon homes policy.
Utilising existing construction materials, the Fabric First area featured six typical new build residential external fabric solutions demonstrating how best practice installation and simple changes to building techniques can result in significant improvements in energy performance. The stand also featured Saint-Gobain Weber’s virtual render system, a new training tool that enables trainees to get a feel for the technique required to effectively apply render before trying the real thing.
Saint-Gobain also launched three new guides for the timber, residential new build and educational sectors at the exhibition.
Finally, the UK final of Isover’s Architectural Student Design competition took place live at the exhibition. Shortlisted entries were judged by a panel of leading industry experts which included Professor Wolfgang Feist, founder of the Passivhaus concept.
Open to students of all universities offering RIBA accredited degree or masters courses, the competition final was watched by large numbers of visitors both at the show and on a live stream through the internet. The winning entry was revealed as ‘Trent Quay’ by Dan Shanaham and Emmett McNamara of the University of Edinburgh. Runners-up were ‘Trent Basin Urban Regeneration’ and ‘Trent Basin Eco Housing’, both from the University of Nottingham. All three teams will go on to compete in the international final which takes place in Bratislava in May.
Lindsey Walker, strategic marketing leader for Saint-Gobain UK and Ireland, comments: “Saint-Gobain is at the forefront of providing highly efficient solutions to meet the challenges facing the construction industry and is committed to equipping the industry with the knowledge and skills required to meet the ever increasing demands placed on the sector. Ecobuild is a great place for us to showcase the comprehensive offer we have and effectively demonstrate how our products, systems and expertise can help the UK achieve a low carbon future.”
For more information about Saint-Gobain’s presence at Ecobuild, please visit www.ecobuild.saint-gobain.co.uk or follow us on twitter @SaintGobainUK.
