Bartoš requested a revision of the regulation limiting the construction of wooden buildings

Prague – Minister for Regional Development Ivan Bartoš asked Interior Minister Vít Rakušan to reconsider the fire regulation limiting the construction of wooden buildings. Currently, they cannot be taller than 12 meters and must not have more than four floors. Bartoš informed about this today on his Twitter account.

"Abroad, wooden buildings can easily have six or seven floors; there are no technical barriers to this. Wooden constructions have many advantages. It is a modern, sustainable, and energy-efficient construction option that can help increase housing availability. Unlike steel, wood does not lose its load-bearing capacity at higher temperatures. That is not the issue at all," Bartoš wrote. ČTK is seeking a response from the Ministry of the Interior.

According to the fire regulation, buildings up to 12 meters can contain E-class insulators, which are types that can resist flame activity for a short time and significantly contribute to potential burning. Wood also falls into this category. Taller buildings must contain completely non-combustible insulators A1 or A2, such as panels and mineral wool.

In some foreign countries, the limits for constructing wooden buildings are not as strict. In Brummundal, Norway, an 18-story wooden building called Mjostarnet was constructed in 2019, which includes, for example, a hotel, offices, and restaurants. In the HafenCity district of Hamburg, Germany, the construction of a 65-meter residential building is currently being prepared, and plans have also been made for the construction of a 100-meter skyscraper in Berlin.

Finland is the biggest pioneer in the field of wooden construction and is also the largest producer of wood in Europe. It plans to achieve complete carbon neutrality by 2035, which is why it has also started to focus on using wood in urban development, public buildings, and large constructions. Petri Heino, the director of a special program for wooden construction at the Finnish Ministry of the Environment, wants to focus on this, stating that by 2025, at least 45 percent of public buildings in Finland should be constructed of wood.

In the Czech Republic, companies like Swedish Skanska, which is building nearly 80 apartments in Prague's Radlice, and Austrian UBM Development, which began construction of the Timber Prague project with 62 new apartments in May, are engaged in wooden construction. Finnish YIT is currently completing the Suomi complex in Prague's Hloubětín, which includes a wooden kindergarten for 100 children.