Eco Workshop - Design, Planning & Building Systems - Sat 25th Feb 2012

The opportunity to discuss the designs and plans you have for your home looking at how the building is to be used and lived in to help decide upon the appropriate design, building system and process to suit your needs, budget and lifestyle requirements.

The Experts

David Hilton Expert About David Hilton: David frequently leads seminars, workshops and CPD lectures as well as eco and sustainability training on the self build courses at the National Self Build and Renovation Centre in Swindon.

He has completed various self builds in South Africa and renovations in the UK and has been involved in designing and installing Solar and heat pump systems since the early 1980s. On the technical side, he is Gassafe registered, an accredited installer of Ground Source and Air Source heat pumps and is currently undertaking an MSc Architecture: Advanced Energy and Environmental Studies .

The Seminars

10.30 – 11.30	Turning a Dream into a Real Project	David Hilton
This scene setting seminar will take you through the different design aspects and processes of your project that need to be considered to ensure that you end up with a home that works for you. David will give you an independent summary of all the various build options that are on the market at the moment, along with the various implications and merits of each system. David will also touch upon lead times and project management connotations and refer to changes in legislation that are affecting planning permission and building control.

11.40 – 12.10	How to Work with Your Architect to Determine Your Building System	Architect
The building system you choose for your home can depend heavily on the design concept, the site circumstances, budget available and much more. This seminar illustrates how to work with your architect to take into account these variables to make a choice of building system that not only answers your quest for sustainability, but that also meets your budget and creates the most ergonomic living space.

12.15 – 12.45	Building Systems & Eco Technology Choices	Project Manager
This seminar looks at how your choice of eco technologies is affected by the overall design and building system that you use for the shell of your home; encouraging you to look at the house as a complete system rather than as individual elements.

13.00 – 13.45	Expert Guided Tours of the Trade Village

14.00 – 15.00	Q&A Workshops with Individual ‘Green Team’ Members (15 mins cycles)
In a smaller working group, question the individual Green Team members to find out answers to your specific queries on the relative merits and benefits of different design concepts and building systems with regard to sustainability and energy efficiency. Architect Project Manager Building Control Eco

15.15 – 15.45	Open House Q&A with a panel of Partners / Exhibitors
Industry expert David Hilton will be accompanied by representatives from four different package build companies to help you explore the benefits of each system, with particular emphasis on sustainability and energy efficiency.

16.00 – 17.30	One-to-one appointments with panel of Experts & Exhibitors
Booked with the individual expert on the day (15 min slots)

Permanent Exhibits

The National Self Build & Renovation Centre has been built on a scale previously unseen in the UK. Here you can walk through exhibits that explain - in exploded detail - every step of the self build and renovation processes.

Trade Village

The permanent exhibition area containing over 200 exhibitor stands, covering everything you'll need to undertake your project.

Wolseley Building	New!
The Wolseley Building has four key zones; the Wolseley Theatre, a Bathstore Showroom, a Moores Kitchen Showroom and a builders merchant branch area where visitors can place orders! The house has numerous different products installed for visitors to see in situ; many of these are 'eco' products such as LED lighting, sun scoops, thermowood timber cladding, sheepswool insulation and others.

Educational Journey

A fully guided audio tour taking you round a fantastic selection of life-sized exhibits, featuring cutaways of groundworks, foundations, walls, roofs and more. If you're considering self building then don't miss this!

Renovation House
Take a walk through the front doors of this full-size renovation project and see the house come to life before your eyes. The audio guide explains every step of the process to give you a deeper understanding of what a renovation project entails.

Potton Show House

Full of character and the latest technology, this show home is an inspiration to self builders, no matter what your tastes.

Outdoor Living Zone	New!
Everything you could need to finish off the exterior of your home, from hard landscaping to living roofs, to the Potton Zone Studios.

Design Centre

Browse through hundreds of designs and get ideas for your own home.

Finance Zone

Speak to our specially trained self build & renovation finance advisors to find the best way of funding your project.

PlotSearch

Search thousands of plots and renovation projects across the country, the first step to building your dream home!

TradeCard

Chat to our TradeCard advisors and learn how to save £1000s on materials.

Experts

A selection of experts are based in the Centre on a permanent basis to speak to you about your particular project and answer any questions you may have about self build, renovation, planning, design, project management and so on.