Timber design and construction is set to dominate the
Midlands this autumn.
WoodFest Midlands
features conferences, exhibitions, site visits, seminars, CPDs, design
challenges and debates to celebrate the use of timber in construction.
Organised by the UK
timber industry’s campaign, Wood for Good,
WoodFest is a series of events designed to bring together architects and
engineers, placemakers and planners, developers and contractors, industry and
politics to explore what forestry and timber can do in the region.
Christiane Lellig,
campaign director for Wood for Good said: “With a focus on offsite
construction, housing and sustainability, WoodFest Midlands promises to offer a
fantastic opportunity to bring all those involved with the built environment to
explore what can be achieved when we work together.
“Each event is a
chance to learn and share about the use of timber in architecture and provides
a platform to discover what’s happening in the region and to be inspired by
timber design.”
Open to the public
later in the year, visitors are invited to explore De Montford University’s
‘micro-living project’ - a 15m2 sustainable living pod built with wood. The
self-build pod will be demountable, extendible, accessible and built from
sustainable materials. It has been designed by a group of 3rd year architecture students with support
from industry experts Hanson, Jeld-Wen, timber industry body TRADA, engineering
consultant Dominic Pask, RG+P Architects and Leicester City Council. Live Build
projects and events will also take place at Nottingham University.
RIBA East Midlands is hosting a series of CPD seminars
including designing
inclusive environments for the future and sustainable
design solutions. The RIBA Great British
Buildings series will visit the timber-panelled Nevill
Holt Opera in Leicester and the award-winning
timber-built Teaching
and Learning Building at the University of
Nottingham.
Hosted by the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent
University, the RIBA
Research Matters conference takes place on 17-18
October at the Nottingham Jubilee Campus. The programme includes case studies
and research featuring a selection of award-winning wooden buildings.
Three
free exhibitions take place during autumn in Coventry and Birmingham showcasing offsite construction
and timber products. Offsite Expo runs from 24-25 September at the Ricoh Arena in
Coventry and includes the latest in offsite construction technologies including
CLT, timber frame and timber panel construction.
UK Construction Week runs
from 8-10 October and TRADA’s Timber Focus Theatre will showcase the very best
projects using wood in the built environment. Architectural timber structures
and award-winning designs will be on display, including a number of full-scale
buildings.
Visitors can brush
up on their knowledge with a range of CPDs covering subjects from offsite
timber solutions and the circular economy together with a range of
timber-focussed case studies. Visitors will also have the chance to unleash
their creativity and try their hand at steam bending with architect Charlie
Whinney.
Also taking place at
the NEC on 22 October, Modular
Matters will show how modular construction can be used for a variety of
applications from education, leisure through to housing.
Constructing
Excellence Midlands is set to host its 2nd Mental
Health and Wellbeing Leadership Forum at the National Forest Headquarters
in Swadlincote on 24 October. It will also host its Annual Construction
Summit on 8 October at the NEC with a focus on zero carbon, quality and
compliance, health and wellbeing, digitalisation and offsite.
WoodFest Midlands
partners include: Constructing
Excellence Midlands, James Latham,
The National Forest, RIBA and TRADA. WoodFest Midlands follows three
successful WoodFests in Newcastle, Sheffield and Reading.
