Matt Pullen kicks off Ecobuild with a splash... of paint

'I've just taken a walk around Ecobuild 2016 at Excel, London where I have been visiting our impressive Dulux Trade stand, which is now open to visitors throughout the three-day show.

The first day has kicked off with a hive of exciting, fun activity and visitors will find a lot to see and do on our stand (E4070), which we have called the Dulux Trade 'Neighbourhood Swatch'.

Today, our team unveiled the giant experiential 'neighbourhood community' with five learning zones created to promote sustainability in design. With the show being almost mandatory for specifiers including architects and construction project managers, it's been great to see that the stand has been busy throughout the day.

While Herbert, our beloved Dulux dog was busy enjoying his close up with our photographer Adrian, architectural artist and illustrator Sarah McMenemy set to work on a mural which perfectly captured the essence of opening day.

Using remanufactured paint provided through our AkzoNobel ReColour initiative, Sarah's depiction of the Neighbourhood Swatch drew in the crowds – even Herbert couldn't resist seeing what the fuss was all about! Sarah's artwork is set to be donated to a local school in Slough, the home of AkzoNobel, after the show wraps up.

Meanwhile, our very own John Staunton, Dulux Trade National Account Manager for Leisure, and Richard Morgan from our Dulux Trade Schools Team, tried our two mock-up classrooms out for size. Richard enjoyed the benefits of the Smarter Classroom designed to enhance the user's experience of learning, while John was subjected to the neighbouring Dull Classroom – a reflection perhaps of many of our own learning experiences at school.

It's safe to say he was less than inspired by his surroundings as he looked on in envy at Richard's 'Smarter learning' zone. The two classrooms were built to give Ecobuild visitors a sneak preview of our Smarter Spaces initiative, which launches very soon.

Walking through the exhibition today it looks as though the next few days are going to be a blast. I also spotted some impressive activity taking place on our neighbours' stands and alongside the initiatives that we are offering to the specifier community, there is no doubt in my mind that sustainable develoments for the construction industry are going from strength to strength.'