Make a date for the Tywi Centre’s Sustainable and Traditional Buildings Fair – the event of the year! Experts, suppliers, and contractors will be coming together to help you make your home more sustainable.

Did you know? In Wales, our 1.4 million homes use 27% of all energy. As we all search for answers to how we can make adaptations and improvements to our homes, the information can become confusing – cut the confusion and let us guide you through eco-friendly home solutions, while we celebrate a greener future and our nation’s great heritage! The Fair covers everything from energy-saving to innovations and is an event the whole family can enjoy, with entertainment from Circus Eruption! and pop up Cafe from Y Sied Goffi 

Join us for this FREE event! It's for everyone interested in both sustainable and traditional buildings. You can find details of the contractors, suppliers and speakers who will be attending the event below. Keep checking back as we are regularly adding more!

Tickets are available for free on Ticket Source- just click on this button to register 

Speakers

10:30am Derek Barber (Weinerberger)- Exploring Monolithic and Cavity Porotherm: Building the Future Brick by Brick

11:30 am Alex Langlands, (Archaeoligist, historian, Television Presenter and lecturer)- Historic Buildings, heritage crafts and the narratives of place.

12:30pm Rowland Keable Building with Earth – a sustainable past, present and future. 

1:30pm Mike Dennis- Building Legacies: Lessons of sustainability from Notre Dame de Paris.

2:30pm Phil Roberts - Design and Development Consultant-Developing a Green Building:  New Felindre Cancer Hospital Design

3:30pm Nigel Gervis- Technical Director at Ty-Mawr Lime Ltd- Energy Efficiency- the whole house approach

Traditional Building Advice and Demos:

Get practical advice from specialists like Lime plasterers, stonemasons, and traditional carpenters. Watch practical skills demonstrations from our experts and have a try yourself! 

• Coe Stone Ltd: Coe Stone Ltd undertake all aspects of traditional stonemasonry, from carving and fitting mullion windows, to rebuilding a spire. Oliver Coe is also the tutor and assessor on our NVQ3 Heritage Masonry Course. He will be demonstrating some carving skills- come along and have a try.
• Pembrokeshire Limework- Offering all aspects Lime plastering, fibrous plaster work, stone work and total rebuilds of solid buildings. Jason is very skilled in the production of beautiful decorative plasterwork and will be demonstrating this on the day.
• Phoenix Forge: 

  Phoenix Forge specialise in the production of traditional hand forged metalwork for listed buildings and historic gardens.  From building ties, bespoke hinges, staircases to estate gates and fencing. All made as they should be by hammer and hand.

  Phoenix forge will be demonstrating traditional forge work on the anvil with their WW1 Rivet Forge!!

• Tom Duxbury: Our very own windows specialist -Tom Duxbury will be available to answer all of your questing about the care repair and upgrading of Traditional timber Sash Windows
• Matthew Pyart;  Carmarthenshire Country Council Conservation Officer. Do you have a question about a listed building. Come along to chat to Matt.

• Jones and Fraser :Ecclesiastical repairs, traditional builders, fine conservation and restoration. Listed and scheduled building specialists. Jones and Fraser will be providing traditional Leadwork repair demonstrations

• Pembrokeshire Thatch & Carpentry Services; Master Thatcher Alan Jones has over 40 years of experience in the trade. The company is involved with the Prince’s Foundation and has launched Thatchers Harvest Welsh Flour using thatching-quality wheat. They hold workshops to educate people on thatching, reedbed management and small-scale grain production. This all encourages the use of sustainable and renewable materials.

  They thatch private and historical buildings and have been involved with heritage and commercial projects. Alan is also a Conservation Carpenter and will be providing hewing demonstrations on the day.

• Simon Howard Glass; Period and Contemporary Stained Glass, Leaded Lights, Hand Painting, Heritage Glazing, Repairs and Restoration. Stained glass making courses. Simon will be providing a demonstration of his craft throughout the day.
• Gwaith Pren Dominic Wright Woodwork; Specialising in traditional joinery & furniture. Repairs and replicas produced to order in South Wales.
• Ty Mawr Lime- Market-leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of environmentally-friendly building materials and systems. 
• CJ consulting: CJ consulting was established by Caroline James in 2016 to provide help and support to anyone struggling with their old building. Caroline has 25+ year’s heritage experience and is accredited as a Specialist Conservation Architect under the Royal Institute of British Architects. Focus is made on getting the building into good condition, educating occupants and steering them away from the greenwash based on building
  pathology and research.  
• Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University- The MSc Sustainable Building Conservation

  Accredited by the Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC), this distinctive masters’ qualification addresses current challenges recognised worldwide. We place emphasis on the role of sustainability within the historic context at both technical and strategic levels. By using our established expertise as a research locus for sustainable design, the course addresses these concerns, which have been identified internationally by the International Council on Monuments and Sites UK (ICOMOS), as the critical future direction of conservation education.

• Heritage Declares Heritage Declares is a non-affiliated group of heritage practitioners who have come together to urge the sector to react more quickly and effectively to the climate and ecological emergency. Heritage also has much to offer a more sustainable world, for example in terms of preserving and reusing existing buildings, promoting traditional and sustainable construction and land management techniques, and reducing air- and car-based tourism in favour of greener alternatives.

• Sam Hale Historic Building Consultancy- specialist materials advice; Building condition and repair surveys/reports, including pre-acquisition reports ;- Advice on damp in buildings; Liaison with national heritage bodies, conservation officers, architects, and contractors ; House histories and historical research into sites including map regression; - Heritage statements and impact assessments

• Andrew Faulkner Associates Ltd- Artist and historic buildings architect based in South Wales, exploring my lifelong love of the Welsh landscape and its historic buildings and structures, particularly those which are derelict, in decline or under threat. I am particularly fascinated by abandonment and decay, how structures undergo dramatic transformation as they deteriorate; how vegetation regains a foothold in a for survival against humans’ attempts to dominate it.
• Black Mountain Conservation - 
  * Practical services including lime plastering, lime pointing, masonry repairs 
  * Consultancy services including writing LBC applications, heritage impact statements and assessments, and CAD drawings. 

Sustainable Construction and Energy Generation

• Birds' Hill Renewables - provides renewable energy - Air source/ Ground source heat pumps, Wood log and Wood pellet boilers, Solar thermal and Solar PV technologies for rural home and business owners. We are MCS registered and help our clients access the various funding available to support the transition to renewable energy sources for our work places and homes. 
• Celtic Sustainables- With a shop in Cardigan and also selling online for national delivery, Celtic Sustainables provides the finest products that benefit you, your home and the planet whether it’s a traditional building or modern home. We provide non-toxic alternatives to paints, wood treatments and insulation. We also sell lime, rainwater harvesting products and more! A one-stop-shop for when you are redecorating or renovating your home. We seek out products that will really help you save money on your energy bills. We have a huge selection of products in stock. We pride ourselves in providing great customer service whether you are shopping in our store or online. We are always happy to help. If you have any queries about any of the products we sell or are looking for advice on the best product for your circumstance, please contact our friendly team.
• Solar Save Renewables- Solar Save Renewables Ltd, based in Wales, is dedicated to simplifying the integration of solar energy into traditional buildings. We specialise in the design and installation of solar energy and battery storage systems, as well as heat pump solutions tailored specifically for rural and conservation areas. Our mission is to provide a simple yet effective approach to utilising solar energy while preserving the charm and heritage of traditional architecture.
• Sustainable Traditional Building Alliance (STBA)- The Sustainable Traditional Buildings Alliance (STBA) is a coalition of organizations and experts in the UK, including researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. Its guidance, research, resources, and events shares knowledge and promotes best practice for understanding, maintaining, and retrofitting traditional buildings, and enables engagement across the breadth of heritage building conservation, sustainable construction practices, and the wider industry to improve outcomes.
• Green Skills Academy- Coleg Sir Gar; The Academy  offers shorter courses to enhance the skills of the workforce, focusing on training including areas like Construcion and Retrofit and Environmental Sustainability. The aim is to equip individuals with new skills that will contribute positively to these industries and more importantly support the Green Skills necessary in the drive towards Net Zero.
• Wool Insulation Wales: Manufactures’ of Truewool® 100% Welsh Wool Thermal Insulation. Truewool® is a low embodied carbon, fully circular, sustainable and renewable product made from the ancient fibre of Wales. Truewool® is exceptionally good at handling moisture and humidity, something that manmade alternatives cannot compete with. Sheep’s Wool has the ability to absorb up to 30% of its on weight in water before becoming wet to the touch or losing any thermal performance.  
• EBUKI: Earth Building UK and Ireland (EBUKI) is an organisation that shares earth building interests though training, education, events and the annual ClayFest. Rowland Keable will be giving a presentation on Building with Earth, and will be holding demonstrations throughout the day.
• Strawbale UK - Our aim is to promote straw bale building and best practice within the sector: SBUK is an association of practitioners, designers, academics, enthusiasts and trainers.
• Construction Wales Innovation Centre - CWIC’s mission is to collaborate with partners to help the construction sector become a Net Zero industry. They champion new technologies and support best practice to future-proof skills.
• Weinerburger- Wienerberger supports and enables the construction industry to create a better future for the built environment. We do this by providing a wide range of building products, systems and solutions, creating long-lasting partnerships and nurturing exceptional, enduring careers; all whilst placing sustainability at the centre of our strategy.
  We are one of the UK’s largest producers of bricks and clay blocks, as well as being a market leader for clay roof tiles. Our operations are extensive, with 22 sites employing over 2000 people, managed from our head office in Cheadle, Stockport.
• Dinefwr Orchardeers- A voluntary community group working to build up an active orcharding culture in and around the Tywi valley. On the day there will be Orchard tours including to the apple shed at Home farm. Cider tasting – from locally grown apples.

Constructive Conversations - 6:00pm -9:00pm 

Following the Tywi Centre’s Sustainable and Traditional Buildings Fair, Heritage Trust Network are hosting ‘Constructive Conversations’ an evening networking event for organisations and individuals to create and join conversations about their projects.

This event is a chance to chat with others about the heritage hurdles and construction conundrums that you’re facing in your projects, get advice from those who have completed similar work, and offer direction to those who are starting out on their journey.

There will be some initial topics to discuss, followed by an opportunity network and natter with others from around Wales, as well as some refreshments and entertainment to help the conversation flow.

6-7pm: Topical Talks – discuss topics such as funding, community heritage & navigating heritage projects with people and organisations who have experience in those areas, gain insights and advice, and offer your input.

7-8pm: Network & Natter – make connections and chat with others from the industry in Wales, this will be a time to discuss your own projects and network with your peers.

8-9pm: Socialise and Shindig – relax and enjoy some entertainment, listen to live music provided by Three Legg'd Mare, enjoy the atmosphere, and chat informally. The Dinefwr Orchardeer will be running a bar.

Thanks to players of the National Lottery for making these events possible.

Discounted tickets;

Network, Partner, Supporter and Connect members can book for a reduced rate. You should have received an email with a code to access the discounted tickets. Click the red 'Get tickets' button and enter your code in the box that says 'Promo Code'. The discounted ticket options will be revealed.

Early Bird tickets (booked before 20th April) are £4 for members and £5 for non members.

General Admission tickets (booked after 20th April) are £8 for members and £10 for non members.

For tickets, please follow this link- https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/constructive-conversations-tickets-871763206217?aff=oddtdtcreator 

Heritage Trust Network is the UK's umbrella organisation for not-for-profit organisations that are rescuing, restoring and managing historic buildings and places. Join us today at www.heritagetrustnetwork.org.uk/members/join-us/