Ecobuild announces plans for the 2016 event
The Ecobuild exhibition has announced a major revamp of its conference and seminar sessions for the 2015 event, to be held at ExCel in London from 8 to 10 March 2016. Tom Broughton, head of content for the event, explains that the change in emphasis is based on a survey of 2500 people and discussions with focus groups, including architects. As a result, all sessions will be on the exhibition floor, rather than in rooms elsewhere in ExCel. The main conference area will seat 450 people, compared with 250 at the last Ecobuild.
Tom Broughton says, ‘The Ecobuild conference will look at growth in the industry, short and long term, bringing in provocative, educational and inspirational speakers to inspire manufacturers, designers, developers, housebuilders and contractors.’
The will be a separate theme for each of the three days. Day one will be homes, day two architecture and day three next generation.
Another feature of the 2016 event will four learning hubs. Three will cover design, building performance and energy. The fourth hub, #buildcircular will be dedicated to resource efficiency and highlight the potential application of circular economy thinking in construction and the built environment. Another new feature will be three room sets to demonstrate the commercial and residential use of smart building technology, enabling visitors to interact with intelligent building technology.
Relating Ecobuild to the industry at large, exhibition director Martin Hurn refers to the 70% growth forecast for the construction market by 2025 and the 230 new towers in London that have been granted planning permission.
The 2016 event will be in the north halls of Excel, with 10% more space than the last event. 65% of space is reported to have been booked already.
