BE-ST Bits of November

Welcome to another edition of the BE-ST Bits! It’s been an exciting and busy month for us. We hosted our annual conference, announced that Clark Contracts has been awarded the contract to retrofit our building, and celebrated the relaunch of Retrofit Scotland. Keep reading for more information on these exciting developments.

1. Retrofit Scotland relaunches to scale neighbourhood retrofit delivery

Retrofit Scotland was relaunched at this year's International Retrofit Conference. Delivered by BE-ST, the programme aims to tackle two urgent challenges: reducing carbon emissions and improving the quality of housing across Scotland to make neighbourhoods warmer, healthier, and more energy-efficient.

Explore Retrofit Scotland.

2. Retrofit of Scotland's National Retrofit Centre is underway

You might have seen that Clark Contracts has been awarded the contract to undertake the deep retrofit of BE-ST's building which houses Scotland’s National Retrofit Centre. ?

As a unique, first of its kind demonstrator, the project will showcase some of the built environment and Scotland’s leading construction innovations, maximising the use of products and materials developed in our factory or by our partners and wider connected ecosystem.

This project will be delivered by Clark Contracts, supported by the talented design team John Gilbert Architects, Luths Services, Brown + Wallace, Narro Associates and CDM Scotland.?

Find out more about the vision behind the project.

3. BakerBrown Studio salvages materials from fire-ruined bungalow

British practice BakerBrown Studio has created a house high up on the South Downs using recycled materials, including rubble from a burned-out bungalow.

Named New Streat Hill House, the home near Plumpton in East Sussex replaces a sprawling bungalow on the site that was destroyed by fire in 2017.

Read more here.

4. Next Gen Summit?- our largest Next Gen event yet

In partnership with Class Of Your Own , we hosted over 180 young learners from 6 North Lanarkshire Council High Schools at our Low Carbon Learning: Next Gen Summit. This was the largest COYO eco-classroom event to date. The Provost for North Lanarkshire Council Kenneth Duffy and Councillor Andrew Duffy-Lawson joined us to visit the students and see the programme in action.

We are also delighted to be nominated for The Sustainability Award alongside North Lanarkshire Council for this programme at the Scottish Public Service Awards 2024.

5. Catch up on BE-ST Fest '24: Keynotes and films are available

BE-ST Fest '24 was an unforgettable experience, but don't worry if you were not able to attend the main conferences. We have released the full playlists of the keynote speeches of the Summit here and the International Retrofit Conference here. Our round-up films are also live, which capture the buzz of the days and offer a snapshot into the discussions that tackled the most pressing challenges and opportunities in our sector.

Watch the Summit film or the International Retrofit Conference film.

Thanks for reading the BE-ST Bits.

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