Enter the Green Innovation Zone
04/03/2010
Are you ... an architect? An interior designer? Product designer? Maybe you’re responsible for your organisation’s sustainability strategy or you need advice about the latest legislation and best-practice techniques. At our Growing Green event next month, finditinsandwell will be launching a Green Innovation Zone on this website, built with you in mind.
The Innovation Zone is your space to ...
* make links with the West Midlands’ diverse, experienced manufacturing supply chain
* take advantage of the region’s world-class engineering expertise
* exchange product knowledge
* share business intelligence
* collaborate with hundreds of engineers and local manufacturing firms (who are capable of diversifying to meet your needs).
We’re building the Green Innovation Zone to nurture resource efficiency, innovation in design, and green solutions for businesses such as yours. It will be a forum for sharing ideas and getting answers from people who may hold the missing piece of your puzzle.
Tell me more
Climate change legislation (as well as sustainability strategies for the built environment) is altering the way many of us work, with clients now - quite rightly - demanding greener buildings.
Therefore, architects, interior designers and technologists (in short, all the creative people responsible for building design) are having to actively seek out eco-friendly solutions for the materials, components and supply services that they need to produce zero-carbon buildings.
Meanwhile, within industry, engineers are reviewing their current manufacturing methods in a quest to meet guidelines on lower emissions.
With billions of pounds' worth of investment committed to innovating products for these emerging 'green' markets, finditinsandwell sees this as a significant opportunity to connect our region's dynamic and resourceful manufacturing sector with our visionary architects. As you probably already know, finditinsandwell is all about building strong ties locally and retaining money, jobs and skills in the area.
That's why, on Thursday 18 March at our Growing Green event in West Bromwich, we're launching finditinsandwell's Green Innovation Zone. This forum-style area of the website will allow design decision-makers to be pro-active in posting their schematic visions and help the West Midlands to decarbonise its manufacturing and engineering base.
In their quest to specify 100 per cent green designs, designers can request information and support on emerging eco-products, alternative specialist materials, and component ideas.
Who's on board?
Among the first to sign up is Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council's Urban Design team. They have agreed to pilot the Green Innovation Zone when it is launched on Thursday 18 March.
Steve Massey of finditinsandwell, who came up with the idea for the Green Innovation Zone, said he's delighted that Urban Design is showing its support.
"It's great that colleagues from our Urban Design team can see the environmental benefits of designers and local engineers collaborating. As a public-sector client, through our designs, we have to lead the way in reducing material mileage to construction site within the borough. This sends out a strong message that Sandwell takes a strong view and intends to be at the forefront in reducing our carbon footprint
"We're hoping that design colleagues from private sector architectural practices will also follow their lead and give the Green Innovation Zone a try."
Steve continued: "The design and manufacturing sectors need to work closer to share fledgling thoughts, innovative ideas and bespoke solutions. The best ideas often bear fruit and blossom when people are able to 'brainstorm' their thoughts. Having knowledge of what potential new markets are in the pipeline can sometimes kick-start the creative thought process, which in turn allows you to justify the investment to diversify and tool up differently to produce a prototype or launch a new product that can often steer your business in a completely different direction.
"We want to reignite the spirit of innovation that made the West Midlands the workshop of the world all those years ago."
Breaking news for Friday 5 March: Decision makers for Sandwell and Birmingham's new 'Super Hospital' have been in talks with finditinsandwell - and they are very keen for their architects to use the Green Innovation Zone to tap into the knowledge of manufacturers and engineers. The green flagship £380m landmark development could create hundreds of business opportunities for local firms (think building materials, interior design, ward furniture, specialist operating theatre beds, medical equipment and sterile supplies, renewable energy, and so on!, the business potential is huge), so this is a big step towards making sure that happens.
What other benefits will the Innovation Zone bring?
By encouraging architects to consult with the local marketplace on environmental issues will allow them to make closer links with the region's manufacturers - and tap into their expertise when sourcing and specifying materials.
It will also encourage corporate responsibility. We know, realistically, that some people will always look outside the area and overseas for cheaper solutions. But in the future, there are likely to be levies and penalties introduced for 'material mileage' - and buildings will need to start life as zero carbon. If we can make life easier for architects and engineers by linking them up today, then the rewards reaped tomorrow may be very big indeed.
From triple-glazed windows to grass roofing systems and charging points for electric cars, we're excited about seeing the future green technology which will emerge from the Black Country ...
Sign up for Growing Green.
[Robot image: Danilo Rizzuti.]
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