The best of Ecobuild
- Published: 28 February 2008 10:45
- Author: Tally Wade
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- Last Updated: 28 February 2008 10:45
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Are you wondering what to see in a last-minute dash to Ecobuild? Or wanting to find out what you have missed?Mark Elton, director of sustainability at ECD Architects and lead architect for the Wolseley UK Sustainable Building Center due to open on 2nd April 2008, has picked the products he finds the most interesting.
Durisol UK
This permanent wall form system is made from 80% recycled/reclaimed wood, mineralised with Portland cement to create 'woodcrete'. The wall form system has high thermal mass and standard U-values as low as 0.23.
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After a 50 year history in Austria and Canada, Durisol was launched into the UK 18 months ago. Its UK factory now produces over 800 bricks an hour.
Greenled Light
Greenled finds, tests, endorses and guarantees innovative LED lamps for leisure and sustainable consumer applications. With fully recyclable materials, Greenled Lights are WEEE exempt (the waste directive), easy to retrofit, directional by definition and boast improved colour rendering for warm light. The units have also been engineered to pull heat away from the LED chip for a guaranteed 40,000 hour life. Greenled also provides a dimmable LED.
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The company is also developing what it claims is the first ever fully directional 3D LED light (see pic).
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MagnaTech
One of the finalists in Ecobuild's Green Dragon's Den, young company MagnaTech has designed a thermally insulating wall tie made from a fibre reinforced composite of Basalt volcanic rock. The Teplo Tie will not conduct heat and can improve U-values by up to 20%. Also available is Rock Bar, a reinforcing bar used in concrete which won't corrode.
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Aquadyne Drainage Panels
Working in conjunction with new company City Roofs, Aquadyne produces a 100% recycled plastic drainage medium which can be impregnated with the seeds of a variety of species selected for use on vertical and sloping green/living facades. A hydroponic irrigation system recycles rainwater and provides nutrients to the vegetation.
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This acoustic floating floor system combines recycled straw chipboard (strawboard) and a castor-oil based foam. Tested by the acoustic division of the NHBC (National House Builders Confederation), it is great for refurbishment projects as it performs well as an overlay board with a direct fix ceiling allowing the existing structure to be retained.
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Mark Elton's overall take on Ecobuild was: 'The scale this year is truly staggering. I think it has almost literally doubled in size yet it isn't just the big players here with their flashy stands (and some greenwash), there is also room for the smaller guys with arguably more interesting products. Ecobuild has really established itself as the place to be, as demonstrated by the presence of UKGBC (UK Green Building Council) and the AECB (Association for Environment Conscience Building). In fact, AECB has used the opportunity to launch its new building standards which roughly equate to the Code for Sustainable Homes but actually explain the steps to compliance.'
