Wolseley has opened the UK’s first commercial showcase for sustainable building products and construction methods. The Wolseley Sustainable Building Center, at Leamington Spa in Warwickshire, aims to accelerate the UK building industry’s move to embrace sustainable construction.

Built at a cost of £3.2 million, the 6,800 sq ft Sustainable Building Center is a living, interactive centre for decision-makers throughout the construction industry.

The unique new building will help make sustainable building a reality. It will enable all involved in construction - from architects through to jobbing builders - to experience the latest technologies and the widest range of sustainable, energy-efficient and recycled building products. For the first time it brings together information about 7,000 sustainable products that are available now, through Wolseley’s 1,800 branch network.

The Sustainable Building Center is already attracting great interest from some of the UK’s leading developers and property companies engaged in major building programmes. Even before its official opening, more than 100 visits to the Center had been scheduled by customers and other interested groups.

The building itself features 170 types of products, including: photovoltaics; micro wind; sedum roof; e-glazing; natural lighting; natural insulation; green floor coverings; mini Combined Heat and Power (CHP); rainwater harvesting; biomass; ground source heat pump; engineered timber; low energy lighting; water saving devices; solar thermal; and sustainable drainage.