CEEC: Wood buildings sustainably and faster

In countries such as Austria and Germany, wooden buildings are gaining popularity thanks to their ecological and fast construction solutions. In the Nordic countries, they make up a significant part of construction. The Czech market is still conservative in this respect. According to a survey by CEEC Research, most developers (66%) are not yet considering a change. 28% of the respondents plan to introduce timber buildings or combined buildings in their future projects and 6% plan to increase their share.

According to the Minister of the Environment of the Czech Republic, Petr Hladík, “The Ministry of the Environment supports wooden buildings as well as other new constructions of family and apartment houses with very low energy consumption. These are mainly single-family houses, but also public buildings, such as smaller kindergartens or retirement homes. The New Green Savings Programme favours projects that make greater use of sustainable materials or materials with low GWP (global warming potential). We assess the building as a whole, including the thermal insulation and other elements used. In the future, we want to focus more on the carbon footprint of a building throughout its entire life cycle.”

It is expected that wooden buildings will be on the rise in the Czech Republic due to the interest in sustainable building technologies. According to the survey, 52% of development company directors expect the number of wooden buildings to increase, while 48% think the situation will remain unchanged. Interestingly, none of the respondents foresee a decline in interest in these buildings, which is positive for the development of the technology in the Czech market. The estimated growth is around 9% on average. This trend can be considered a step towards European standards. Also, pressures from the EU to reduce emissions in the construction sector may encourage further development of this technology in the Czech Republic.

More than half of Czech developers (59%) perceive ecology and sustainability as the biggest advantage of wooden buildings, which indicates a growing interest in environmentally friendly building technologies. Another key advantage is speed of construction, cited by 53% of developers. Interestingly, 31% of respondents also perceive the lower weight of the structure as a significant benefit, giving the buildings greater flexibility when used on different types of terrain.

Despite the growing global interest in sustainable construction, many Czech developers are still reluctant to include wooden buildings in their projects. The main reason for this is low customer demand, cited by 47% of respondents. Another important factor is the lack of experience with this technology, mentioned by 31% of the companies surveyed. Timber construction is still perceived as a relatively new technology and developers often prefer traditional construction methods. In addition, concerns about shorter lifespan and lower quality, shared by 16% of respondents, contribute to the cautious approach of developers. These factors are slowing down the development of timber buildings on the Czech market.

The durability and stability of masonry buildings, together with their flexibility for different construction requirements, contribute to their prevalence. Alternative construction methods, such as timber buildings, account for only 3% of development projects so far. Combined buildings, which use timber in combination with other materials, account for 7%, indicating a slightly increasing interest in innovative construction approaches. Despite these trends, traditional masonry construction remains the clear choice for most developers.

But wooden buildings have great potential. Developers see the motivation mainly in increased demand from customers, as 56% of respondents said. This figure confirms that without stronger interest from clients, it is less attractive for developers to change their construction practices. Another important factor is more favourable legislative conditions, which would motivate 34% of companies. Given the often complex and lengthy approval processes, simplification of legislation is a key condition for increasing investment in timber buildings. A reduction in material costs would then convince 25% of respondents. If costs could be reduced, interest in wooden buildings could increase significantly.

Legislation around wooden buildings in the Czech Republic is still quite complex and full of obstacles. Austria, for example, has long supported timber buildings and their legislation offers clear fire and energy standards that allow for their wider application. In contrast, Czech rules are often ambiguous, which was cited as a problem by 41% of respondents. Czech regulations are particularly complicated for larger projects, where requirements are more stringent and often slow down or completely block the approval process. This is cited as a problem by 28% of developers, while ambiguity in zoning and regulations also creates barriers for 28% of respondents. In addition to legislation, limited access to professionals and skilled labour is an issue (41%).

David Šiller, Sales Director of WOOD SYSTÉM: “In the segment of “smaller” projects, it is mainly a matter of perceptual barriers or inexperience, because in terms of price and utility, brick buildings and wooden buildings are very similar today. In larger cities, of course, we encounter the value of the land and the associated need to build to height; wooden buildings can currently be effectively permitted up to a height of about 12 metres. In theory, it is possible to build up to 22.5 metres, but the permitting process is still complicated. We look forward to an update of the standard that will make building up to 22.5 metres easier.”

Sylva Krechlerová, Managing Director of KRONOSPAN CR, adds: “We have enough raw material resources for the construction of wooden buildings, we just need to limit the export of raw wood abroad and support the finalization of wood-based products in the Czech Republic. In development projects, most building projects used to be limited to a height of 12 m due to limits set by fire safety regulations and standards. Although this is now changing and we can build above 22.5 m height, however, the normative approaches have to be replaced by a fire engineering approach, which is complex and with which only a few buildings have been or are being built. Faster application of the proposed changes to the regulations to building practice, including examples and guidance for greater dissemination to the professional community, would certainly help.”

The figures are based on the H2/2024 Study of property developers published by CEEC Research.