Pioneering the potential: event review

Supporting the construction industry

The event supports Locate East Sussex's ongoing support for the construction industry in East Sussex which is in the midst of a natural and bio-based building materials revolution. To help meet decarbonisation targets, there is a groundswell of projects, research and momentum to this area of the industry, and with the county's pioneering researchers in sustainable design and construction, our aim is to help promote businesses and researchers working to support the principles of a ‘circular economy’.

East Sussex pioneers in local renewable materials

As we face a climate crisis, timber and other bio and land-based materials are becoming an increasing part of the building sector’s materials portfolio. While most visible is the mainstreaming of engineered timber, and particularly the exponential growth of cross-laminated timber (CLT), there are other plants, fibre and earth-based, as well as less known natural materials, which are becoming source materials for an increasing part of the contemporary built landscape. The South East of England - the most wooded part of England – is home to pioneering work such as at the Flimwell Woodland Enterprise Centre, and is so well placed to take these first steps to uncover the potential of these materials, several stages further. 

The emphasis on natural, renewable materials builds on nearly two decades of R&D and commercial development that could constitute a new phase in the use of locally sourced natural building materials. Pioneering the Potential event was organised to introduce and communicate this building materials revolution, opening a door on the prospective benefits of local materials in the South East, and to highlight what East Sussex has to offer including through Brighton University's Green Growth Platform.