Influential fashion and house designer  Wayne Hemingway  was on hand to open Wolseley’s new national showcase for sustainable building products and construction methods which hopes to revolutionise how the industry thinks about sustainability.
 
The 6,800 sq ft Sustainable Building Center, built at a cost of £3.2 million, is the first building of its kind in the UK, providing a living, interactive centre for decision-makers throughout the construction industry.
 
The building, at Wolseley UK’s18-acre site at Leamington Spa in Warwickshire,  aims to accelerate the UK’s move to sustainable construction.
It will enable all involved in construction - from architects through to jobbing builders - to experience the latest technologies and the widest range of sustainable, energy-efficient and recycled building products. 

For the first time it brings together information about 7,000 sustainable products that are available now, through Wolseley’s 1,800 branch network of brands such as Build Center and Plumb Center. 
 
The Sustainable Building Center is said to be already attracting great interest from some of the UK’s leading developers and property companies engaged in major building programmes. Even before its official opening, more than 100 visits to the Center have been scheduled by customers and other interested groups.
 
The Center showcases a wide range of different types of product, many in their working environment, to provide visitors with hard data on the quantifiable benefits of the latest materials and construction methods.  Renewable energy generators, such as solar panels, have been installed with a display showing the amount of power they are generating.  
 
‘Renewables’ technology is just one feature on show.  Real-world sustainable products have been incorporated into the building from below the ground to the roof: drainage, sub-structure, walls, roofs, finishes, floors, windows, heating and ventilation, lighting, bathrooms and landscaping.
 
Wolseley’s specially trained staff are on hand to provide visitors with up-to-the-minute information, data and guidance on the most appropriate materials for specific projects, from single homes through to large-scale commercial developments.

The two-storey building also features a training and presentation theatre and café facilities for events, launches and demonstrations, to engage with a range of people from all sectors of the construction industry.


Nigel Sibley, Wolseley UK managing director, said:  “Wolseley is committed to helping the industry reduce the environmental footprint left by developers and occupiers alike.  Both regulation, such as the Code for Sustainable Homes, and market forces are driving the construction industry to embrace sustainability.  Certainly recent steep rises in energy costs have concentrated the minds of both householders and developers on the benefits of energy-efficient homes.
 
“We have long been an advocate of sustainable building products and construction methods, working with leading architects, developers and contractors to encourage the specification and use of energy-efficient materials in all types of buildings. 
 
“This major initiative provides a new focus for our role in the promotion of sustainable design and construction, one which we are perfectly placed to lead, as the UK’s leading distributor of building materials.  It also provides a vehicle for impartial advice, which research indicates our customers need, and will foster an acceptance of sustainable products and approaches at every level.”
 
 “Wolseley has made a significant investment which reflects our belief that sustainable products will move from ‘niche’ to ‘norm’ in the construction industry. The opening of the Sustainable Building Center moves the eco-debate decisively forward, from talk to implementation.”
 
The building itself features 170 types of products, including: photovoltaics; micro wind; sedum roof; e-glazing; natural lighting; natural insulation; green floor coverings; mini Combined Heat and Power (CHP); rainwater harvesting; biomass; ground source heat pump; engineered timber; low energy lighting; water saving devices; solar thermal; and sustainable drainage.