Demand for timber constructions remained stable last year in the Czech Republic, stated the director of the association

Prague – Demand for timber buildings remained stable year-on-year in the Czech Republic last year, despite a decline in construction production. The reason is that timber buildings can be constructed several times faster than traditional brick and steel constructions, and therefore were not affected by last year's rise in the prices of construction materials and labor. The average prices for wooden shell buildings also stagnated, while prices for turnkey wooden buildings increased. Compared to previous years, interest in the construction of public buildings made of wood also increased last year. This was stated in an interview with ČTK by Lenka Trandová, director of the Association of Suppliers of Prefabricated Houses (ADMD).

According to Trandová, last year's stabilization of timber construction was also aided by the fact that, unlike brick houses, timber structures can be built in an automated manner that requires fewer workers. Most construction work can thus be transferred off-site to production halls, where the designer prepares the project, subsequently production documentation is created, and plans are sent to a machine that cuts and prepares the individual pieces of the building.

According to data from ADMD, which represents 25 almost exclusively Czech companies focused on timber construction, the average price of a shell building last year stagnated year-on-year at 2.9 million CZK. The price of turnkey wooden buildings increased by 19 percent, reaching an average of 4.8 million crowns. This is because the prices of construction materials used in wooden shell buildings remained more or less stable last year, although the prices of finishing materials as well as construction and craft work necessary for the completion of turnkey buildings increased.

In addition to family homes, several larger public projects also began construction last year. One of them was two apartment buildings in Prague’s Řeporyje called Timber Prague. Overall, this involves 63 apartments. Upon completion at the end of this year, Timber Prague will be the largest timber building in Prague. The total investment in the project by the Austrian developer UBM amounted to nearly 500 million crowns.

Both buildings have four floors and are 12 meters high in order to comply with the current fire regulations restricting taller timber construction for safety reasons. According to Trandová, the construction of larger wooden public buildings, which is a common practice in other European countries, is hindered in the Czech Republic mainly by lower awareness of timber buildings and less interest from developers.

"When we take Austria and Germany, timber buildings account for more than a quarter of all family and public constructions for a long time. In the Nordic countries, it is even 80 percent. For example, in France, there is a legislative obligation to build timber buildings in the public sector, and they should represent 40 percent of the entire French public construction," added Trandová.

In addition to UBM, Swedish Skanska is also engaged in timber public construction in the Czech Republic, building nearly 80 apartments in Prague's Radlice. Finnish YIT is currently completing the Suomi complex in Prague's Hloubětín, which includes a wooden kindergarten for 100 children.