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 3^rd
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 2^nd 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.

Book
your place at any of the WoodFest Midlands events here.