BE-ST (Built Environment – Smarter Transformation) has officially reopened its Innovation Campus in Hamilton, launching the new Mass Timber Centre of Excellence and Scotland's National Retrofit Centre.

The event, which was the first of the BE-ST Fest 2025 Fringe Festival, brought together industry leaders, academics, and policymakers to showcase the new facilities.

The Mass Timber Centre of Excellence now houses £1.5 million of new equipment and is home to the largest commercially available CNC machine in the UK. The centre will be capable of producing approximately 8,000m³ of mass timber annually and aims to strengthen local supply chains, create jobs, and reduce carbon emissions.

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Stephen Good, CEO of BE-ST, said the new buildings are designed to give the sector the "tools, expertise, and space it needs to overcome barriers and respond to a number of key challenges, including skills gaps and housing and climate crises."

The National Retrofit Centre has also been relaunched following its own deep retrofit, which was partly funded by a £1.2 million grant from Scotland's Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund. The centre will provide training, hands-on learning, and a space for collaboration to help scale up retrofit solutions across the UK.

According to Caitriona Jordan, Associate Director of Retrofit and Energy Efficiency, the centre will serve as a hub for developing retrofit skills and knowledge to support Scotland's journey to decarbonise its existing buildings.