In his exclusive column, Tim Pollard pays homage to the Sustainable Building Center, which showcased renewable energy as far back as 2005:
I recently drove past the site of the Wolseley Sustainable Building Center and with some dismay and no little heartache I saw bulldozers shifting mounds of earth where once stood a truly remarkable building.
The Sustainable Building Center was designed to showcase the maximum number of different materials, products and techniques to achieve lower-impact buildings.
I was involved in the project from the very start and you will understand that in 2005, it was a tricky sell to my colleagues, some of whom didn’t share my enthusiasm and vision of a market where buildings would have to become much less wasteful, energy consuming and water wasteful. Materials would have to be more sustainable and less damaging to the environment.
Nonetheless, after some considerable time and effort and against all the odds, we gained the backing of the board to commission and build the structure on our HQ site in Leamington Spa. We were also extremely lucky to choose an architect with great knowledge and passion in Mark Elton. There was a great deal of care and attention given to specifying products and liaising with suppliers.
In the run up to the start of the construction phase, we put together a team to be based in the building, and what a great team we had. I shall always remember those happy but hard-working days, so thanks to Siobhan, Kate and Chris and later to Kate 2. We filmed the entire process and I was on site every day to experience first hand, how to building and surrounding site were put together.
The SBC officially opened in 2008 complete with 2 galleries, a 40-seat theatre a kitchen and office. It was a success from day 1 and during the next 10 years, we welcomed over 20,000 trade visitors to the building which was not open to the general public.
Of course, we had visits from government Ministers (4) and numerous Members of Parliament, senior executives from large construction companies, civil servants, NHS groups, housing associations, etc., but the best visits were always from the tradespeople keen to find out what was happening in the new world of sustainable building.
Colleagues from branches throughout the UK would arrive with interested customers to spend a couple of hours inspecting the building. It was such an exciting time.
Many of our supply partners were involved in open days and product refreshes during the building’s life and they played no small part in spreading the news about the SBC throughout the industry. The Building won countless awards from both inside and outside the industry and was much admired by all who came.
Alas, when troubled waters were hit 10 years later the Building was closed and then the whole site was sold to developers.
So goodbye old friend, I will really miss you and I hope that if you visited the SBC you will join me in raising a glass to a jolly fine, game-changing building.
