UBM Development Czechia has big ambitions in the implementation of ecological wooden buildings. In the Czech Republic, the company plans to develop not only residential projects, but also office buildings along the lines of its parent company UBM Development AG, which builds them in Austria and Germany. UBM Development Czechia recently started construction of the Timber Prague residential project, which offers a total of 62 residential units in modern multi-storey wooden buildings made of solid wood panels. This illustrates the advantages of wood as a building material, which include a minimal carbon footprint, shorter construction time and positive effects on health and well-being. The aim of UBM is to contribute to changing the outdated legislation that prevents the wider spread of this ecological and sustainable type of construction in the Czech Republic and does not allow buildings higher than four storeys or 12 metres fire height.
While UBM Development AG is currently preparing, for example, a 12-storey office building in Mainz called Timber Peak, which will use 6,000 m3 of wood, it is facing rigid standards in the Czech Republic. “In order for buildings higher than 12 metres in fire height to be built in this country, the current legislation needs to be changed. De facto, one table indicating a fire standard of four storeys above ground is problematic. However, any fears about the construction of taller buildings are completely unnecessary. In neighbouring countries such as Germany and Austria, as well as in Scandinavia, eight- to 12-storey wooden buildings are already being built as standard and the potential risks are quite comparable to other types of buildings,” explains Josef Wiedermann, Managing Director of UBM Development Czechia, adding: “We want to influence the Czech legislators in this direction and show them the first Timber Prague project as an example of good practice. We have also started to participate in conferences, seminars and other events on this topic, including in the Czech Parliament. This is too slow from our point of view and we would like to help speed up the process.”
In the pioneering UBM project, wood has replaced the original concrete
UBM Development Czechia recently announced the construction and sale of its pilot timber building project in the Czech Republic. It is the first wooden multi-storey apartment buildings in the modern history of the capital city of Prague called Timber Praha. In the Prague-Reporyje district, the buildings will reach a maximum height of four storeys in accordance with the current standards. There will be 62 flats with layouts from 1 + kk to 4 + kk and sizes from 39 m2 to 110 m2. The supplier of the wooden part of the above-ground floors is the experienced Austrian company ELK with extensive know-how in the field of wooden buildings.
The project was originally conceived by the Casua architectural studio as a classic concrete building. In line with the vision of UBM Development AG, which plans to become Europe’s largest developer of ecological buildings with timber construction, the UBM design department changed it to a timber building. Prodesi/Domesi was involved in the technical design. “Converting the design of the apartment building from a classic conventional building to a wooden building was a big challenge for us, especially with regard to the fire solution. We were able to find an interesting technical solution, which had never been applied before in the Czech Republic, and successfully discussed it with the Fire Brigade. The result is also applicable to much larger projects in the near future. Now the implementation of Timber Praha is in full swing and we are very pleased to be at the construction of the first ever wooden multi-storey apartment buildings in the modern history of Prague,” says Zdeněk Konvalina, technical solutions manager of the project from Domesi Timber Construction.
Timber is also coming to the fore thanks to the speed and precision of CLT panel processing
In the past, wood was used in the construction industry mainly as an aesthetic natural material. Nowadays, it is also becoming a building material to a large extent, made possible by advanced processing technologies. These include innovative CLT panels (cross-laminated timber) also used for the construction of multi-storey office buildings and also used for the construction of the Timber Prague residential project. CLT panels are characterised by high strength, load-bearing capacity and very good fire resistance.
At the same time, UBM implements modern prefabrication technology. The individual wooden elements are manufactured in the factory and trucks arrive at the site with the finished parts. This increases precision and quality of workmanship, but also reduces construction time. “In the case of Timber Praha, for example, we already have a finished facade wall from the factory, including the larch external cladding. It takes us about three weeks to assemble the wooden parts of three floors of one apartment building. All the houses will take about three months. After that, we have about two months of assembly. We will have the project completed in about 5.5 months from the time we start the wooden assembly. The total construction time using prefabrication is thus significantly shorter for wooden buildings than construction using the classic method on the construction site,” says Tomáš Krejčí, Director of the Design Department at UBM Development Czechia.
(Not only) Housing with good energy: benefits for residents and nature
The use of wood as a building material is also environmentally friendly. It is a renewable and fully recyclable material. UBM is committed to wood certification (PEFC, FSC), which guarantees sustainable management. In addition, it is built only from increments. Instead of cutting down one tree, the forest manager plants two to three new trees. The great advantage of wood is the absorption of carbon dioxide emissions. In the Timber Prague project, for example, 1 800 m3 of wood will be used, which will bind 1 800 tonnes of CO2.
Wood is also beneficial in terms of its effect on human health and psyche, reducing stress and increasing productivity. Timber buildings are therefore suitable not only for housing, but also as office or educational buildings. Wood also has good insulation and acoustic properties and is able to optimally balance humidity in the interior. It creates a healthy indoor environment, naturally eliminating viruses and bacteria. For example, a coronavirus can remain on a wooden wall for just seven to eight hours, whereas it can persist for up to two days in a concrete or brick building.
