The 2025 Straw Building UK (SBUK) Symposium brings together designers, makers, policy thinkers and community voices for a full-day gathering in Swindon.
Hosted at the National Self Build & Renovation Centre, this one-day event explores how biobased construction – especially straw – can reshape our buildings, our materials economy, and the systems that support them.
Confirmed speakers: Clara Koehler of Woodknowledge Wales, Paul Crosby of Crosby Granger Architects, Jonathan Davies of Spring Design, and Dr Judith Thornton, a Low Carbon Research Fellow at the Institute for Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences at Aberystwyth University.
This year’s Symposium also marks ten years of Straw Building UK – a decade of growing momentum, shared knowledge, and collective action. We will also host the official launch of The English Edition of French Professional Standards for Building with Straw – a milestone for training, technical clarity, and international collaboration.
The day includes:
- Provocations and insights from across the sector
- Hands-on demonstrations and exhibitions
- Conversations on policy, craft, education and insurance
- New thinking on cities, carbon, culture and care
- Plenty of time to meet others shaping this field
A special thanks to the sponsors – Ecococon and Ecological Building Systems – now working together as one team across the UK and Ireland. Their support helps make this event possible.