Three of the largest R&D initiatives in the history of the UK's construction sector are set to appear together at a trade event for the first time, as the UK Research & Innovation's Transforming Construction Challenge partners are announced as Lead Innovation Partner at Futurebuild 2020.

The Transforming Construction Challenge

Borne out of UK Research and Innovation's (UKRI) Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, the Transforming Construction Challenge partners are working with industry to drive change in how we build our buildings, eliminating the productivity gap in the sector.

The Challenge is made up of three organisations - The Construction Innovation Hub, the Active Building Centre and the Transforming Construction Network Plus. Together, these organisations want to ensure we build safer, healthier, more affordable, more energy efficient buildings which deliver better outcomes for those who use them and for wider society.

The opportunity for industry

With a focus on innovation and a theme of 'moving towards a zero-carbon world', Futurebuild 2020 will mark the first major industry event supported by all three Transforming Construction partners.

The centrepiece of the partners' presence at Futurebuild 2020 will be a centrally located Innovation Lounge. With the Challenge offering a range of opportunities for UK-based researchers and businesses, the lounge will provide visitors with the opportunity to meet with experts across the three organisations and find out how they can become involved.

In addition, leading experts from all three organisations including construction sector household names like Sam Stacey, Keith Waller, Dr Ahsan Khan and Professor Jacqueline Glass, will play a central role in panel discussions on both the Arena and Keynote Stages, offering their thoughts and analyses on the challenges and opportunities which we face in 2020 and the years ahead.

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Comment from the partners

Speaking about the presence at Futurebuild 2020, Sam Stacey, UKRI Challenge Director for Transforming Construction, said: "Our £170m programme - Transforming Construction: Manufacturing Better Buildings Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) - is a gamechanger for the sector in which up to £250m extra will be matched by industry.

"Futurebuild is a great platform for UK Research and Innovation along with projects to which we have awarded funds, to showcase the very best of new innovations in construction. This a great endeavour to help us to meet the UK's national infrastructure programme target of £650 billion worth of projects by 2025.

"Also, in keeping with the theme of Futurebuild 2020, making the transition to a zero carbon world, the challenge will support industry in adopting technologies and help buildings to be constructed 50% faster, 33% cheaper and with half the lifetime carbon emissions."

Keith Waller, Construction Innovation Hub Programme Director, added: "As the Construction Innovation Hub, we've spent the past year mobilising our programme to transform construction. But we know transformation will never progress from ambition to reality unless we take the industry on each step of the journey with us.

"Futurebuild has earned its place as one of the 'go-to' events in the construction calendar, with some of the best and brightest innovators in the sector seeking opportunities to turn their innovative ideas into tomorrow’s solutions.

"By joining forces with our Transforming Construction partners, the Active Building Centre and the Transforming Construction Network Plus, as well as our funding provider UKRI, we can use Futurebuild as a platform to speak to industry with one powerful voice, encouraging and supporting the transformation that is so badly needed in our sector."

Professor Dave Worsley, Principal Investigator at the Active Building Centre, further stated: "The UK construction industry has a unique opportunity to be at the forefront of both the introduction of modern methods of construction and exciting combinations of technology supporting decarbonisation of the built environment.

"Futurebuild is an exciting opportunity to bring the Active Building Centre and our Transforming Construction partners together with industry innovators, to really start moving on the net zero potential that can already be delivered for our homes, workplaces and infrastructure - an opportunity for research, industry and government to lead this industrial revolution together."

Summing up, Professor Jacqueline Glass, Transforming Construction Network Plus Principal Investigator, said: "We are delighted to partner with the Construction Innovation Hub and the Active Building Centre for Futurebuild 2020. By combining our efforts to transform the future of UK Construction, we are looking to draw together the very best ideas and practices.

"We want to give visitors a chance to play a part in this wider movement. This is an exciting opportunity for businesses big and small to engage with the Transforming Construction Network Plus and its funded projects."

To meet the partners behind Transforming Construction and learn about how you can get involved, register for your free ticket to Futurebuild 2020 here.