Woodknowledge Wales

Woodknowledge Wales

Inspiring innovation through collaboration

Events

Sevenoaks Modular Open Day

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Wednesday 27 September

The Sevenoaks Modular site

Sevenoaks Modular would like to welcome you to an open day at its state-of-the-art facilities in Neath. Offering 30 years’ experience in the design, manufacture and assembly of timber frame buildings and low-carbon offsite manufacturing, your visit will be educational, inspire ideas for future developments, and facilitate valuable discussions amongst industry specialists.

The day will include refreshments, presentations, a factory tour, a site tour at our County Flats development in Aberavon, and Q&A with in-house technical specialists and key figures in the Welsh housing and timber supply chain. We will discuss the advantages of offsite manufacturing in terms of risk management, performance enhancement, waste reduction and environmental benefits.

Presentations

    • Approaches to MMC and levels of off-site pre-assembly
    • The importance of a fabric first approach
    • Timber in construction and the use of Welsh Timber
    • Sustainable materials and healthy living environments
    • The importance of QC and continuous improvement in manufacturing
    • Embodied and operational carbon
    • The timber supply chain in Wales

    Agenda

    • Arrival, welcome and introductions
    • SOM company overview presentation
    • Factory H&S presentation
    • Factory tour with Tom Evans
    • Networking/refreshments/food break
    • County Flats site visit

    Local Authorities Leading the Way – Net Zero Planning Policy

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    Join Good Homes Alliance (GHA) and Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) for a joint online event showcasing the progressive work of Local Authorities in developing, and successfully adopting, net zero planning policies.

    Further Details and Registration

    To access the event’s website for more details and to register

    Click here

    Programme

    12:00 Welcome from GHA – Lynne Sullivan OBE, Chair, Good Homes Alliance

    12:05 Welcome from TCPA – Celia Davis, Projects and Policy Manager, Town and Country Planning Association

    12:10 What is the landscape for LAs in regard to setting progressive planning policies? – Marina Goodyear, Project Manager/Lewis Knight, Head of Sustainable Places, Bioregional

    12:25 Planning policies successfully adopted! Lessons learned from B&NES and Cornwall, and implementation challenges
    – Alex McCann, former Climate Policy Officer at Bath and North East Somerset Council (B&NES); now part of the Bioregional Sustainable Places team
    – Emily Rubin, Principal Development Officer, Cornwall Council

    12:45 Emerging planning policy: Net zero, circular economy, design codes and more – Greater Cambridge – Emma Davies, Principal Sustainability Officer, Greater Cambridge Shared Planning

    12:55 Next steps for local authorities: How can the recent good news set a precedent for other progressive LAs? And what are the challenges? – Thomas Lefevre, Director, Etude

    13:10 Q&A/panel discussion: How will updates to national policy and standards impact progressive local authorities?

    13:30 Close

    Key details

    Date: Tuesday 18th April 2023

    Time: 12:00-13:30

    Location: Online (Zoom)

    Registration

    • Free-to-attend for GHA members, BPN members and TCPA members
    • £20 for members of GHA partner organisations*
    • £30 for non-members

    Further Details and Registration

    To access the event’s website for more details and to register

    Click here

    WoodBUILD 2023: Trees, timber & the transition to zero carbon construction

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    Conference and Expo: Two-days, in-person event focused on the key role of forestry and timber construction in addressing the climate crisis.

    When?

    Day 1: Wednesday, 12th July 2023, 9am – 5:00pm (plus evening programme)

    Day 2: Thursday, 13th July 2023, 9am – 2:00pm

    Where?

    University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Lampeter Campus, Wales (SA48 7ED)

    WoodBUILD is back and better than ever!

    Since the first WoodBUILD event in 2016, this conference and expo has become the premium timber industry and low carbon housing event in Wales. Previously held in person , during the pandemic the event switched to an online format. We are pleased to announce that WoodBUILD is back in-person, bigger and better than ever. We have organised two-days packed with enticing speakers, exhibitors and a series of plenary and parallel sessions. The aim of WoodBUILD is to inspire, create new business opportunities, offer a collaborative platform for all participants and to share information on current and future Welsh Government policies.

    Find the full conference programme and further information on how to get there, where to stay and whom to meet on our dedicated events page.

    Book your tickets now

    Tickets

    Tickets

    Early Bird two-day ticket: £100 (ends 31st May 2023)

    Early Bird for Woodknowledge Wales Members: £70 (ends 31st May 2023)

    Two-day ticket: £200

    Woodknowledge Wales Member ticket: £100

    Student ticket: £50 (limited availability). Note: Only bookings with academic email address will be accepted.

    Conference dinner ticket: £30

    For any queries please contact us via https://woodknowledge.wales/contact-us/

    Conference barbecue

    We invite you to a convivial get-together to celebrate and deepen newly forged, re-ignited or long standing personal relationships at the end of day 1 . This will be an opportunity for you to socialise in a relaxed environment, to mingle and informally network with other conference attendees. Weather permitting, this will be an outdoor event on campus. 

    Book your space at the barbecue through our Eventbrite page by adding a conference dinner ticket at checkout.

    Exhibiting at WoodBUILD

    We have an exciting range of exhibitors booked for this event. If you’d like to exhibit at WoodBUILD 2023, please contact: Ceri Loxton at ceri.loxton@woodknowledgewales.co.uk

    Accommodation options

    Black Lion Hotelhttps://www.blacklionlampeter.com/accommodations/
    Evangelisa B&Bhttps://www.evangelisawales.com/
    Denmark Farm Conservation Centrehttps://www.denmarkfarm.org.uk/eco-lodge/
    Falcondale Hotelhttps://thefalcondale.co.uk/
    Winllan Farm Holidays(Cottage/Glamping Pods & Static Caravan Hire)https://www.winllanfarm.co.uk/
    The Royal Oak Hotelhttps://www.facebook.com/RoyalOakLampeter/?locale=en_GB

    Conference Sponsors:

    26th January 2023 – Rethinking IWI with Natural Fibre Insulation

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    Join ASBP and members of our Natural Fibre Insulation Group for a deep dive session into thermal upgrades to solid walls using natural fibre insulation internally.

    Our experts will explain the impact of insulation depth on energy savings, thermal comfort and humidity balance within the fabric. The event will help in realigning our perception of how we should be internally insulating solid walls and brings us a step closer to truly tackling the enormous retrofit challenge our country faces.

    • Relationship between insulation thickness and energy savings and maximising ROI.
    • Impact of insulation type and depth on condensation risk.
    • Importance and influence of thermal mass and thermal comfort.

    Key details

    Date: Thursday 26th January 2023

    Time: 12:30-14:00

    Location: Online (Zoom)

    Fees:

    • Free for ASBP members
    • Free for architects, designers and specifiers!
    • £20 +VAT for members of partner orgs*
    • £30 +VAT for non-members

    *ACAN, AECB, Building Performance Network, BWF, CIBSE, Fit for the Future, FIS, Good Homes Alliance, natureplus, Retrofit Works, Passivhaus Trust, SuperHomes, STBA, The Green Register and Woodknowledge Wales.

    Registration

    For more information and to register, visit https://asbp.org.uk/events/iwi-natural-fibre

    18th Jan 2023 – Passivhaus Social Housing Event

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    An exciting Passivhaus Trust Event focused on the delivery of Social Housing

    Date and Time: Wed, 18 January 2023, 14:00 – 17:00 GMT

    Discover more about why Passivhaus is being adopted by so many local councils and how to deliver high standards at scale. This is a free event for social housing providers.

    Session 1 – Why choose Passivhaus

    The move towards net zero, energy demand, and energy supply capacity – Sarah Lewis, Passivhaus Trust
    The benefits of living in a Passivhaus – occupant views
    Why not just have a “nearly Passivhaus” (Passivhaus principles vs certification)- Joel Callow, Beyond Carbon

    Session 2 – How to deliver Passivhaus

    The cost implications of early-stage design decisions
    Getting contractors on Board, building up a supply chain
    Case studies – Ashmi Thapar, Bell Philips Architects
    Dealing with rising costs in the current market

    For more information and to register visit the link below:

    https://bit.ly/3IJF9Ok

    Natural Fibre Insulation Summit 2022

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    Join The Alliance for Sustainable Building Products (ASBP) and members of the Natural Fibre Insulation Group on Thursday 3rd November, 2-4pm for the inaugural Natural Fibre Insulation Summit.

    This event is Free for ASBP members AND for local authorities and housing associations. Discounted tickets are available for Woodknowledge Wales members and other partner organisations*.

    What you will learn

    • Find out why natural fibre insulation (NFI) is the most sustainable insulation choice.
    • Hear from industry experts on why natural fibre insulation is the fastest growing segment of the insulation market and how industry can keep up with demand.
    • Be introduced to the leading players in the sector including both established and up-and-coming brands.
    • Discover the benefits of NFI for clients, contractors and architects.
    • Get practical advice on how to insulate floors, roofs and walls, with a detailed practical presentation for external wall insulation (EWI).
    • Find out how natural fibre insulation can help solve the retrofit challenge.

    Speakers and programme

    Hear from members of the Natural Fibre Insulation Group, which includes the leading manufacturers, suppliers and installers of NFI in the UK. For the past 5 years this collective of ASBP members has worked collaboratively to better communicate the multiple benefits of natural insulation, via knowledge sharing events, exhibitions, peer-reviewed briefing papers, and representation at Environmental Audit Committee inquiries.

    14:00 Welcome from ASBP – Mark Lynn, Vice-Chair, ASBP/Chair, ASBP Natural Fibre Insulation Group and Managing Director, Eden Renewable Innovations Ltd/Thermafleece

    14:10 Introduction to the Natural Fibre Insulation Group members

    14:20 The benefits of natural fibre insulation for clients, contractors and architects – Neil Turner, UK Technical Sales Manager, Ecological Building Systems

    14:35 Natural fibre insulation: The sustainable choice – Umendra Singh (Umi), Technical Expert – Bio-based Systems, Soprema North Europe  

    14:50 Natural fibre insulation in practice: Overview of applications – Chris Brookman, Director, Back to Earth

    15:00 Example of application: External Wall Insulation (EWI) – Lime Green Products

    15:15 Natural fibre insulation – The retrofit solution and looking beyond U-values – Martin Twamley, Technical Director, STEICO UK

    15:30 Panel discussion

    – Why are so many people now specifying NFI?

    – How do we keep up with demand?

    16:00 Close

    Key details

    Date: Thursday 3rd November 2022

    Time: 14:00-16:00

    Location: Online (Zoom)

    Fees: Free for ASBP members; Free for local authorities and housing associations; £25 +VAT for members of Woodknowledge Wales and other partner organisations*; £40 +VAT for non-members. 

    *ACAN, AECB, Building Performance Network, BWF, CIBSE, Fit for the Future, FIS, Good Homes Alliance, natureplus, Passivhaus Trust, SuperHomes, STBA, The Green Register and Woodknowledge Wales.

    Registration

    For more information and to register, visit https://asbp.org.uk/events/nfi-summit-2022.

    October 10th 2022 – Delivering Domestic BPE in a Digital + Data-Driven World – On-Construction

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    Building performance evaluation has a reputation of being longwinded, intrusive and complicated. Established techniques often require residents to vacate a property, that tests are done over several weeks at a certain times of the year and involve convoluted equipment set-ups.

    But does it have to be like this?

    Technology and methods of assessment have changed significantly in the past decade. We now have new methods to rapidly assess building fabric, a proliferation of low-cost devices that can collect data about indoor environments, consumer level platforms for seeing performance data and, excitingly, new facilities that can recreate a wide variety of weather conditions so we can investigate how assets and product perform in a controlled environment.

    In this seminar, we will focus on the use of digital building performance evaluation in the construction phase of a building’s lifecycle. Our speakers will demonstrate and discuss the art of the possible, helping housing clients and BPE practitioners to understand the art of the possible, developing better skills, better processes and achieve better outcomes.

    Programme

    15:00 Opening – George Martin, BPN

    15:10 Are we more digital? What has changed in the last 10 years – William Box, Carnego Systems

    15: 25 Energy House 2.0 Rapid Assessment of Whole House Performance – Prof Richard Fitton, University of Salford

    15:40 New technology solutions to age old measurement needs – Luke Smith, Build Test Solutions

    15:55 What rapid technology testing means for a major house builder – Doug Drewniak, Willmott Dixon

    16:10 Rapid testing: Portascanner Airtight 520 – Bernard Hornung and Daniel Dobrowolski, Coltraco Ultrasonics

    16:25 On-construction BPE Q&A / panel session

    16:45 Closing remarks

    16:55 End

    Booking

    Please visit our EventBrite page to book your place: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/delivering-domestic-bpe-in-a-digital-data-driven-world-on-construction-tickets-414131206587

    BPN Members: FREE!

    Non-Members: £30+VAT

    Partner* Members: £15+VAT (Including Woodknowledge Wales Members)

    *our partners are GHA, WoodKnowledge Wales, PHT, ASBP, STBA, SuperHomes, AECB

    Details

    Date: 10/10/2022

    Time: 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm

    July 13th 2022 – How to retrofit walls externally with natural insulation

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    ‘How-to’ event introducing the use of natural insulation as a solution to the external insulation of walls.

    About this event

    The UK has 28.5m homes, and some of the oldest homes in Europe. Wales has 1.35m or 5% of UK homes and almost a third were built before 1919. Most are of solid wall construction and nearly half of them have no wall insulation.

    This has to change. But insulating walls externally in a way that protects both the health of the occupants and the building is not straightforward. The purpose of this ‘how-to’ event is to introduce the use of natural insulation as a solution to the external insulation of walls.

    Audience: Housing development and asset management professionals, architects, contractors, students

    Format: Online (via Zoom)

    Speakers: Nick Heath (NDM Heath Ltd), Mark Lynn (Thermafleece), Simon Ayres (Lime Green)

    PROGRAMME

    10.00 What are the challenges of internal wall insulation? – Nick Heath (NDM Heath Ltd)

    10.30 How does natural insulation help? – Mark Lynn, Thermafleece & Chair of the Natural Fibre Insulation Group

    11.00 How do you install it? – Simon Ayres, Lime Green

    11.20 Q&A

    11.30 Close

    This event is part of Trawsnewid Menter Pren | Transforming Timber Enterprise – an event series providing inspiration, knowledge and skills for a zero-carbon built environment.

    The transformation to zero carbon creates new and exciting opportunities for both business and skills development. Our aim in this series of expert led events is to inspire organisations in general and young people in particular to better understand and embrace the opportunities presented by the rapid transformation to a zero-carbon built environment. These ‘how-to’ events cover essential aspects of both new build and retrofit, and major on the better understanding of the use of timber products and the forests from which they are produced.

    REGISTRATION

    This online event is free to attend but you must register via Eventbrite HERE.

    Event details

    Date: 13/07/2022

    Time: 10:00 am – 11:30 am

    July 6, 2022 – How to retrofit walls internally with natural insulation

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    ‘How-to’ event introducing the use of natural insulation as a solution to the internal insulation of walls.

    There are approximately 28.5 million homes in the UK consisting of the oldest housing in Europe. Wales has 5% of the UK housing which in turn is the oldest in the UK, with 32% of buildings constructed before 1919 and therefore predominantly solid wall. Approximately 50% of Wales 1.35 million homes have no wall insulation. This has to change. But insulating solid walls internally in a way that protects the health of the occupants and the building is not straightforward. The purpose of this ‘how-to’ event is to introduce the use of natural insulation as a solution to the internal insulation of walls.

    Audience: Housing development and asset management professionals, architects, contractors, students

    Format: Online (via Zoom)

    Speakers: Nick Heath (NDM Heath Ltd), Martin Twamley (Steico), Chris Brookman (Back to Earth)

    PROGRAMME

    10.00 Welcome and Introduction – Gary Newman, Woodknowledge Wales

    10.10 What are the challenges of internal wall insulation? – Nick Heath, NDM Heath Ltd

    10.30 How does natural insulation help? – Martin Twamley, Steico

    10.50 How do you install it? – Chris Brookman, Back to Earth

    11.10 Q&A

    11.30 Close

    This event is part of Trawsnewid Menter Pren | Transforming Timber Enterprise – an event series providing inspiration, knowledge and skills for a zero-carbon built environment.

    The transformation to zero carbon creates new and exciting opportunities for both business and skills development. Our aim in this series of expert led events is to inspire organisations in general and young people in particular to better understand and embrace the opportunities presented by the rapid transformation to a zero-carbon built environment. These ‘how-to’ events cover essential aspects of both new build and retrofit, and major on the better understanding of the use of timber products and the forests from which they are produced.

    REGISTRATION

    This event is free to attend but you must register via Eventbrite HERE.

    Event details

    Date: 06/07/2022

    Time: 10:00 am – 11:30 am

    June 23, 2022 – How to sustainably produce the timber we need for a zero-carbon Wales

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    Interactive forest walk looking at how Welsh forests can sustainably provide the timber resource needed for our future zero carbon society.

    “Wood is the only advanced industrial material that we can use more of and mitigate climate change at the same time” – Welsh Minister for Climate Change Julie James MS.

    As simple as this sounds, it poses a challenge. Today, most of our construction timber is imported. Reforesting Wales with a proportion of timber producing species is complex and poorly understood.

    At this unique event you will gain an understanding of the past, present and future of Welsh forestry, and how Welsh forests can sustainably provide the timber resource needed for our future zero carbon society. The day includes an interactive forest walk where you will be able to learn from experts with a life-long passion for growing trees and processing wood.

    Location: Woodlands at Llangoed, Brecon, Wales, LD3 0NP

    Woodknowledge Wales is delighted to have been invited to visit the private woodlands at Llangoed. These woodlands are an integral part of a traditional estate and have been predominantly managed to provide timber. The woodlands have won a number of prestigious awards over the years and recently won the Royal Forestry Society regional award for excellence in silviculture. The private Estate focuses on the best quality conifer crops possible for current markets, combined with respect for significant biodiversity. The Estate’s aim to grow the highest yielding, best quality conifer crops possible for current markets, with a clear focus on producing timber (some up to 60cm diameter) with the aim of providing a regular income

    Format: In person event – max. 25 places

    Speakers: Chris Jones (Forestry Specialist) and Dainis Dauksta (Wood Science Specialist)

    PROGRAMME

    • AM Guided Forest Walk
    • PM Theory session with Q&A

    This event is part of Trawsnewid Menter Pren | Transforming Timber Enterprise – an event series providing inspiration, knowledge and skills for a zero-carbon built environment.

    The transformation to zero carbon creates new and exciting opportunities for both business and skills development. Our aim in this series of expert led events is to inspire organisations in general and young people in particular to better understand and embrace the opportunities presented by the rapid transformation to a zero-carbon built environment. These ‘how-to’ events cover essential aspects of both new build and retrofit, and major on the better understanding of the use of timber products and the forests from which they are produced.

    REGISTRATION

    This event is free to attend but you must register via Eventbrite HERE.

    Event details

    Date: 23/06/2022

    Time: 11:00 am – 4:00 pm