Scotland Build 2015

19 Oct 2015

Amidst increased industry confidence Urban Realm sees what is afoot at Scotland Build 2015 with a special preview of the key exhibitors, products and workshops delegates can look forward to when the show doors are thrown open on 25 and 26 November.

The looming arrival of Scotland Build 2015 comes at an auspicious time for the construction industry, which is presently enjoying its first period of prolonged stable growth sector in a decade, fuelling a new found sense of optimism amidst a raft of government-led measures designed to kick start housebuilding.

Whilst attendees are likely to arrive with a spring in their step there are nevertheless severe challenges (and opportunities) on the horizon, particularly in regards to Prime Minister David Cameron’s target of building 200,000 homes per annum, which will place greater emphasis than ever on local authorities to play their part. It is a challenge which authorities are keen to meet, amongst them Glasgow City Council which recently committed to building 25,000 homes by 2025 by freeing up brownfield land and repurposing empty shops and homes.
It is against this backdrop that Kingspan Insulation, Marmox and Celotex will join a total of 125 exhibitors poised to descend on Scotland Build 2015, a two day conference bringing together over 50 speakers, for a series of workshops and conference sessions. Designed to tackle issues such as meeting renewable energy ambitions with case studies examining key public and private sector construction projects it promises to shape the future direction of the sector in the years ahead.

With a major presence on the show floor Kingspan Insulation will focus on returning redundant commercial space to productive use. Picking up on a recent study commissioned by property specialists, Sweett Group, the ‘Real Value of Space in Commercial Real Estate’, the building materials specialist highlights how ROI was influenced by four commonly used wall constructions in over 7000 commercial buildings.

Factoring in the insulation price, location, design, rental income and construction cost this showed that opting for a premium solution over cheaper, poorer performing insulation delivers a 92 per cent positive ROI across all buildings analysed. Moreover in 40 per cent of the buildings studied the ROI fell between 300 and 1000 per cent with a further 18 per cent of buildings exceeding even this upper limit with returns of over 4000 per cent identified in some instances.

Commenting on the wider agenda for Scotland Build Adrian Pargeter, head of technical and marketing GB at Kingspan Insulation, told Urban Realm: “Coming so soon after the revisions to Section 6 of the Building Standards, it will be fascinating to see how the industry is coming to terms with the realities of the tougher regulations. The challenge of compliance provides an opportunity for innovative new solutions and Rufus Logan of BRE Scotland’s talk promises to be a highlight.

“For building fabric, one of the most exciting technologies are Vacuum Insulation Panels (VIP) which can match the thermal performance of conventional insulation at a fraction of the thickness. Kingspan Insulation’s OPTIM-R VIP systems are designed for a wide range of applications and are ideal for both new and refurb projects.

“BIM will also be on the tip over everyone’s tongues with Level 2 becoming compulsory on all public buildings next year. In addition to the two NBS seminars, the event should highlight how BIM is currently being utilised on major projects in Scotland.”

Looking further afield Pargeter believes that the Building Standards revisions will hand Scottish firms a clear advantage in competition with rivals south of the border as a higher standard of energy performance becomes the new normal. Pargeter said: “There’s £38bn pounds worth of construction contracts set to be awarded to projects in Scotland over the coming years1.”

Amongst others in attendance will be insulation board manufacturer Celotex, who are keen to showcase their ‘Insulating Scotland’ campaign to a wider audience. This follows a two week long nationwide tour undertaken by the firm in a customised campervan, reaching out to architects, contractors and their distribution partners with eye-catching advertising and a series of technical clinics as well as a range of Celotex products and services that can assist compliance with the new regulations.

Paul Evans, head of marketing, Celotex, echoed Pargeter in his eagerness to see how firms respond now that the gauntlet has been laid on tougher standards. He said: “Celotex will be demonstrating how our high performance PIR insulation solutions help to simplify compliance to new regulations whilst focusing on a fabric first approach.

“We expect housebuilding to be one of the main growth sectors over the coming years, and this will be further boosted by the Scottish government’s ‘Help to Buy’ scheme. This will be coupled with construction growth and opportunities within other key market sectors including commercial, healthcare and education. With the industry growing and with an increasing focus on building performance, now is the perfect time to build on a fabric first approach to ensure this growth continues now and over the long term.”

Also in attendance at the new annual get together will be Marmox, the specialist building products provider, which will warn that whilst new building regulations will usher in the greenest buildings in the UK it will be a tough ask to ensure compliance.

Mark Bowman, technical manager at Marmox, commented: “There has always been heat lost through the cold bridge where the wall meets the floor but because the heat loss through the walls and floor themselves was, this cold bridge heat loss was overshadowed. Now with the introduction of the 2015 regulations, the insulation in the walls is now going to be much better and therefore the energy lost at the thermal bridge is now proportionately much more significant. As a result, the new regulations place new limits on the heat loss at this point. Our Marmox Thermoblock is designed specifically for this task and because we believe that it is the simplest and most effective method in reducing or eliminating this thermal bridge and we feel that 2015 will be the springboard year for Marmox in Scotland.”

Scotland Build 2015 takes place on 25th and 26th of November at the SECC, for further information please visit scotlandbuildexpo.com