Review of the year: 2020 – a year for online events

2020: A year for online events

Rupert Scott delivers a round-up of TRADA’s activities from the past 12 months.

TRADA's last in-person event was Futurebuild in March 2020

3It would be impossible to review the past year without mentioning Covid-19 and how it has changed the way we work. As a result of the restrictions, TRADA’s last in-person event was Futurebuild in March 2020, which marked the release of the long-awaited Manual for the design of timber building structures to Eurocode 5 2nd edition.

3When Covid-19 relegated many construction professionals to furlough or self-isolation, we began work on the Learn with TRADA email series. Over several months, we released emails focused on varying subjects, each collating relevant reading, free downloads and handy discounts in the TRADA Bookshop. We have delivered 18 Learn with TRADA emails, and have had tremendous feedback. These emails have continued into 2021, with further goodies to be added.

The Rye Apartments by Tikari Works won the Gold Award and the Private Award in the 2020 Wood Awards. Photo: Jack Hobhouse

The number of online events has soared as in-person events have fallen. Working via the web has proven to be extraordinary, no matter the application of choice. In September, TRADA dabbled in this with our members’ only webinar Get more out of TRADA membership, which introduced attendees to various tools built into our website.

3The Wood Awards winners were announced in November, which included several prominent TRADA members. Read the case study of the Gold Award winner, the Rye Apartments, on page 16.

4We took our annual Better Timber Buildings conference online in November in the form of two digestible two-hour online events, focusing on timber and fire, and the durability of timber respectively. By going online, we were able to transfer the savings to our members, making it part of our growing membership package.

Futurebuild March 2020

In 2021, we hope to expand our provision of online training in the form of webinars that will benefit our members and others interested in learning about timber.

Here at TRADA, we are always looking to improve on both our approach and our offering in order to adapt to meet the evolving needs of our industry. n