BE-ST contributes to ten events over three days in London
Built Environment – Smarter Transformation (BE-ST), Scotland’s innovation centre for construction and the built environment, has delivered a three-day programme of activities as part of and alongside Futurebuild and UK Construction Week 2026 in London.
Across the three-day event BE-ST contributed to ten events including workshops, programme launches, roundtables, site visits and industry networking.
For the duration of Futurebuild, the BE-ST team hosted the Timber in Construction stand where they showcased a new practical training rig which has been developed as part of the CITB-funded Timber in Construction Skills project, led by Donaldson Timber systems in collaboration with BE-ST, Napier, NMITE, STA and TDUK. The project is helping to create the skills, confidence and capability needed to deliver the next generation of homes and buildings from structural timber.
Designed and built by the BE-ST team at its Innovation Campus in Scotland and then transported to London for the conference, the rig demonstrates the full assembly and disassembly of a range of timber systems including timber frame, Cross Laminated Timber (CLT), Glued Laminated Timber (glulam) and Nail Laminated Timber (NLT). This assembly and disassembly system forms the basis of new hands-on training courses aimed at upskilling site operatives to install offsite manufactured timber systems.
The rig and training course have been developed by BE-ST as one of fifteen new training interventions created by project partners Edinburgh Napier University, NMITE and BE-ST with sector support from the STA and TDUK.
At the stand, BE-ST also showcased another industry-led skills project - Low Carbon Passport. The Low Carbon Passport course offers a fully-funded online and practical certification where participants learn to bridge the gap between theory and the actual hands-on skills that ensure you and your team have the confidence to build quality, airtight new builds, retrofits and low energy construction programmes. The programme is backed by industry partners including Kier, Morrison Construction, Robertson, Passivhaus Trust, and Balfour Beatty and funded by the CITB Industry Impact Fund.
On the opening day of Futurebuild, BE-ST delivered a workshop with the University of Edinburgh focused on the development of a Mass Timber Fire Safety Roadmap. The session brought together stakeholders from across the sector to review existing research, create consensus around knowledge gaps and agree priorities for further work. The aim of the workshop was to further enhance a consistent and evidence-based approach to fire safety in mass timber buildings through a roadmap funded by Built by Nature.
Speakers included Louise Rogers and Sam Hart from BE-ST's Housing and Manufacturing team, alongside Angus Law and Zak Campbell-Lochrie from the University of Edinburgh.
While in London BE-ST also hosted a networking reception at Scotland House. The event brought together industry representatives, policymakers and delivery partners to discuss current challenges in the built environment, including housing delivery, retrofit and low carbon construction. The session included discussions on some of the solutions Scotland can offer to these challenges such as its renowned timber frame ability, mass timber capability, emerging delivery models and opportunities for collaboration.
During this, Carbon Futures were invited to announce the opening of a London office to work and collaborate more closely with organisations across the capital and beyond, expanding its impact throughout the country.
BE-ST’s activity at Futurebuild reflects its ongoing focus on skills, applied research and industry collaboration across the UK to support the transition to a low carbon built environment.
Stephen Good, CEO at BE-ST said:
“Our involvement in Futurebuild and UK Construction Week this year has been all about showcasing the power of connections across the UK. We’ve taken advantage of this platform which brings audiences from across the UK together to demonstrate what BE-ST can do for organisations outside of Scotland, bringing our connections, expertise and resources to create opportunities that reach across borders and enable businesses to drive forward their missions to deliver a low carbon built environment.”
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