building design & construction
skills training
Designing and constructing sustainable buildings is incredibly exciting. In partnership with Wudl, our modular eco-building company, we have developed educational projects and deliver a range of workshops focused on sustainable construction skills, with a strong emphasis on natural materials.
There is a significant skills shortage across the construction industry, particularly in low-carbon design and building practices. This shortage makes delivering sustainable homes and buildings more difficult and costly—further complicating the path to achieving net-zero carbon targets.
A core aim of our work is to raise awareness of the opportunities within this exciting and fast-growing sector, especially its potential to contribute across all three pillars of sustainability: environmental, economic, and social.
what we offer…
We have a small auditorium-style space within our house building factory in Manchester city centre (Wudl, 101 North Western Street, Manchester, M12 6JL). The space can accommodate up to 15 attendees, though 12 is a more comfortable number.
For the more hands-on short courses, we open up some of our factory space.
While we are happy to deliver our workshops at other venues, this wouldn’t offer the opportunity to experience a live factory environment, including our timber frame panel manufacturing line and a wide range of materials and components on display. Travel expenses would also need to be covered for off-site delivery.
Build a Tiny House
A 5-day short course | combined classroom and hands-on learning
A practical course teaching the core skills of building a tiny, sustainable home.
We’ll work at a smaller scale by constructing a dog kennel, but the principles are the same: framing, insulation, windows, electrics, weatherproofing, and finishing.
You’ll gain hands-on experience in sustainable construction and leave with the basics of how to build a low-impact home.
Introducing Home Retrofit
A 3-hour workshop | classroom learning
We’ll explore why retrofitting 20+ million UK homes is urgent, the “fabric first” approach, and how to create a whole house plan.
Key topics include quick wins, insulation and airtightness, low-carbon materials, heating, cooling, ventilation, and project planning.
Suitable for homeowners, students, suppliers, contractors, and anyone working in housing or construction.
Carbon Literacy Training
A 1-day workshop | classroom learning
A one-day workshop exploring climate change, carbon emissions, and practical actions to cut our impact.
From food and transport to buildings and retrofit, we’ll cover the key issues and opportunities in a low-carbon economy.
Suitable for students, professionals, community groups, and anyone wanting to take meaningful climate action.
Looking for something more bespoke? We can design workshops across the full spectrum of sustainable construction… from retrofit, carbon literacy and materials, to hands-on building skills. Every course can be tailored to homeowners, students, professionals, or community groups, so long as it explores an aspect of modern, low-carbon design. Our goal is to make learning engaging, practical, and adaptable, while inspiring real change.
Please get in touch if you would like to discuss a bespoke course - we generally need a minimum of 10 people.
