23rd March 2018

Now to be called Futurebuild

Ecobuild 2018 saw tens of thousands of industry professionals come to ExCeL, London, to explore the latest innovations in the built environment. In 2019, in order to widen the scope of the exhibiton, the owners are changing its name to Futurebuild: it will continue to be the industry platform for the fresh thinking, new innovations and leading partnerships and exhibitors that made ecobuild so well-respected for over 14 years. The show will also …..

….. continue with its commitment to innovation and sustainability, but, under the new banner, it will have even more focus, impetus and purpose.

Martin Hurn, managing director of Futurebuild Event Ltd, explains, “From the very start we set out with a bold vision to take an entirely new approach for the event, as well as how we worked alongside our audiences across the built environment.

“Futurebuild 2019 represents everything we set out to achieve. It will be an event for the industry, by the industry, and 100% committed to championing innovation and sustainability for the future of the built environment. After all, unless the future is sustainable, and unless we think beyond the status quo, we won’t have a future at all.”

Central to Futurebuild 2019 will be a new, dedicated ‘ecobuild’ conference, where industry experts, academics, community leaders and politicians will come together to debate and explore cutting-edge thinking around the most critical social and environmental issues. A series of curated exhibits will immediately surround the arena, acting as a discussion point for key sustainability topics.

Hurn continues, “Over the years, the “ecobuild” name has become synonymous with the event’s industry-leading conference programme. So ecobuild will be an ideas forum which acts as a centre point of the event and which is dedicated to shaping the agenda and making recommendations across all aspects of sustainability.”

Positioning ecobuild at the heart of Futurebuild will allow the conference and neighbouring showcases to firmly focus on sustainability and help drive real change in this field. It will also give the rest of Futurebuild the flexibility to focus on wider construction issues, as defined by industry feedback and input, including the skills gap, digital adoption and procurement.

This will take place through six ‘Futurebuild Hubs’, which will bring industry together to flesh out the big thinking and facilitate practical delivery. Each dedicated to a crucial aspect of the built environment, the Hubs will host cutting-edge exhibitors and deliver comprehensive content and educational programmes, including evidence-based seminars, onsite products, and in-practice demonstrations.

The Hubs are:

Buildings: Covering all aspects of building – including new build, retrofit and refurbishment. The place to explore and debate building technology, procurement, legislation, facilities management and maintenance
Energy: Bringing together all areas of the sector, including emerging new approaches, such as district energy, autonomous buildings and renewables
Offsite: Showcasing an championing the latest thinking and innovations – including all aspects of design and delivery – in this growing area of interest for the construction industry
Materials: Combining the latest innovations, research and understanding in mainstream materials, including concrete, timber, steel and masonry, as well as emerging new materials
Urban Infrastructure: A space dedicated to all aspects of the city, apart from the buildings themselves. Discuss and discover all things around infrastructure, water, urban greening, the public realm, well-being inclusivity and anti-terrorism
Interiors: Dedicated to all aspects of domestic and commercial interiors. Championing ‘design with purpose’ and placing a focus on crucial design elements such as colour, sound and materials

Industry reaction to the plans has been unequivocally positive, with numerous key strategic partners and exhibitors immediately signing up to be part of the event.

Steven Cross, Director of Commercial Development for RIBA Services, said, “We are looking forward to seeing Futurebuild 2019 develop based on the success of this year’s ecobuild. This year’s, conference programme and seminar streams have been excellent, with great content that has truly put the event at the forefront of knowledge sharing. They have also been extremely well attended and certainly brought a lot of our members to the event.”

Andreas Simmer, UK Managing Director, Internorm International, said, “We have had another very successful year at ecobuild 2018 and have taken a number of good leads away from the event. We are also proud to have been an event sponsor.

“The plans for Futurebuild 2019 are very exciting. We rebooked straight away and are looking forward to being part of it and continuing to showcase our products and innovations with like-minded professionals.”

Concluding, Hurn said, “Our experience in developing the 2018 event has demonstrated the value of partnerships and working in close collaboration. We’re hugely excited to be able to announce our plans for Futurebuild 2019, however, it is still early stages and we are keen to work as closely as possible with representatives from across the built environment to ensure it truly is the most stimulating, memorable and ‘must-attend’ event possible.”

In order to be part of the future of the industry’s most forward-thinking event, contact Martin.Hurn@futurebuild.co.uk.