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Materials grown rather than extracted. From established bio-based sources — hemp, flax, cork, bamboo, wool, straw — to living and biofabricated materials such as mycelium, algae and bacterial cellulose. Renewable by origin, and increasingly capable of matching conventional materials on performance.

Materials designed to be used again. Reuse and recycled content, design for disassembly, material passports, urban mining, and products made from waste streams. As circularity moves from ambition into regulation, this is where the practical answers are.

Materials that absorb, insulate and shape sound. Panels, felts, textiles, perforated surfaces and structural solutions for offices, schools, healthcare and hospitality — where acoustic comfort is increasingly part of the brief from the outset.

Materials that react. Surfaces that change with temperature, light, moisture or touch, embedded sensors, self-healing and shape-shifting materials, and interactive surfaces that turn a building element into an active component.

Where materials are heading. Speculative and experimental work, early-stage research, biomimicry and nature-inspired design, and the cultural shifts that decide which materials we will be specifying in ten years' time.

How materials are produced is changing as fast as the materials themselves. 3D printing and digital fabrication, robotics, local and on-demand production, new forming and finishing techniques, and the return of craft through digital tools.

As buildings continue to grow to unprecedented heights, weight is an increasingly important factor in the material choice of these gravity-defying buildings. Lightweight materials are essential for buildings reaching new heights. Production considerations are also important. The ‘less is more’ principle is certainly true - less material means less waste and a design that is often cheaper to produce as well as being better for the environment.

Embracing sound ecological principles in materials is one of the most revolutionary recent developments in the built environment. The world is increasingly focused on the health of the environment and materials are of great importance in creating a cleaner, more ecologically sound world. Buildings often use great quantities of a single material so it is important that such materials are targeted for reuse, returning them back to a cycle of contribution to society rather than discarding them into landfills.

Materials that generate energy or withstand what is coming. Building-integrated photovoltaics, solar glass and energy-harvesting surfaces, insulation and thermal performance, and materials built for heat, water and extreme weather.

Materials which transmit, refract of reflect light, or allow light through by means of transparent elements in a material, are increasingly popular in the designed and built environment. Design enhancements to translucent materials such as colour-changing agents or layers of solar, thermal, acoustic and even antibacterial protection add to the quality of buildings, spaces and objects both aesthetically and functionally.

The hospitality industry has a broad scope. Many complex issues are at hand: overcapacity and the economic climate, yet new hotels are constantly being built. How is this possible? There are socio-demographic changes in the needs of guests, so what new concepts and opportunities are there? Spa & wellness, hotels, resorts, restaurants, cafes, museums, theaters, yacht building, all have a place in this themed period. New concepts, the finest materials for the best experience, the craziest projects, and top architects and designers: we have a programme full of Leisure & Hospitality activities for everyone.

Building with wood. Mass timber and cross-laminated timber, engineered wood, timber towers and hybrid structures, modified and fire-treated wood, cladding and facades. The fastest moving field in structural design, and one of the few that stores carbon while it builds.

The carbon question, material by material. Embodied and whole-life carbon, EPDs and environmental data, low-carbon cement and steel, carbon-storing and carbon-negative materials, and the decisions that determine a project's footprint before construction begins.

Beyond sustainable, towards net positive. Materials and systems that restore rather than deplete: carbon-negative production, regenerative agriculture and forestry as a material source, soil and ecosystem health, and self-regenerating materials. The leading edge of where the field is moving.