Willmott Dixon is using its sponsorship of the British Science Festival to publicise construction’s material reuse challenge by asking the public for everyday examples of reuse and repair to be exhibited at the event in Southampton in September.
The photo contest, called Inspire Change and run in partnership with the British Science Association and the University of Southampton, invites individuals, schools, businesses and community groups to submit photographs and short descriptions showing how they are extending the life of materials.
Selected entries will be displayed at the festival from 16-20 September alongside a commissioned sculpture by Hampshire artist Darren Allsopp made entirely from reclaimed metal.
The entries will then be published in a digital collection.
Willmott Dixon wants to make reuse and low-carbon construction easier to specify. The company has cut absolute construction waste by 51% against its 2018 baseline and now diverts 97% of non-hazardous waste from landfill.
‘One of the biggest levers our industry has’
“Reuse is one of the biggest levers our industry has on carbon, and it is also one of the least understood outside it,” said Richard Poulter, managing director of Willmott Dixon in the south.
“We wanted to take that conversation somewhere it doesn’t normally go, a public festival, in a city where we build, and start it from something everyone recognises. The person repairing a chair at home and the team retaining a building’s frame rather than demolishing it are working on the same problem at different scales.
“Practically, we are working to make reuse easier to specify. Our fire testing programme for cross-laminated timber removed a technical gap that had been slowing low-carbon timber projects across the sector, and at Queen Mary University of London we retained much of an existing building while adding two floors of new teaching space. Those are the decisions that determine a building’s embodied carbon, and they are decisions we want customers and the public to understand.”
James Brown, head of festivals at the British Science Association, said: “The British Science Festival is all about shining a spotlight on the unseen areas of science and innovation that are making a difference to people’s lives and helping address global challenges.
“We’re very excited to be working with Willmott Dixon on this year’s festival to showcase their amazing work and to encourage others to re-think their relationship with the materials around them.”
Darren Allsopp, artist and founder of D’Sculpted, said: “I’m incredibly proud to have been asked to create a sculpture for the British Science Festival. Working with reclaimed metal is all about seeing the potential in something that’s no longer wanted, and I’m looking forward to bringing that idea to the festival.
“I hope the sculpture encourages people to look at everyday objects differently and think about what they could become, instead of throwing them away. I’d love people to get involved by sharing the things they’ve reused, repaired or transformed in their own lives.”
New purpose for surplus
The contest seeks authentic examples rather than professional photography.
Entries could include the reuse of construction materials, repair projects, upcycling, furniture restoration, community initiatives or other approaches to giving surplus items a new purpose.
Entrants should email a high-resolution photograph with a description of up to 50 words to [email protected]. There is no limit on submissions.
Entries close at 12 noon on Monday 7 September 2026. Full details are here.
The British Science Festival is one of Europe’s longest-running science festivals, attracting more than 10,000 visitors a year. 2026 marks the event’s 195th anniversary and is the first held in Southampton since 1992. This year’s programme includes more than 80 free events.
Track record in sustainable and low-carbon delivery
Willmott Dixon has a growing portfolio of projects involving material reuse. Recent examples include TBC.London at Tower Bridge Court, where reclaimed structural steel was incorporated into the redevelopment of an existing building.
The retrofit approach saved 6,365 tonnes of CO2 compared with a new-build alternative, while the reused steel helped avoid a further 48 tonnes of embodied carbon.
Other examples include the retrofit and extension of Queen Mary University of London’s Informatics Teaching Laboratory in Mile End, which retained much of the existing structure while adding two floors of teaching space.
