UBM Development AG, an international real estate company for European capitals, aims to become the largest European developer of ecological buildings with a hybrid wooden structure. A special expert team has been set up for this purpose at the parent company UBM in Austria. The company is currently one of the pioneers in the construction of real estate with a hybrid structure, in which wood forms the basic building element. In the near future, UBM plans to implement up to 100,000 sqm of space in residential and administrative centers in Europe in this way. After experience from Austria and other CEE countries, UBM is preparing the first project of this type in the Czech Republic as well.
For the construction of buildings with a hybrid wooden structure, the Austrian UBM Development AG has created a special expert team led by Bernhard Egert, a long-time specialist in wooden constructions. “The production of concrete and steel, used as traditional building materials, accounts for about 6% of global CO2 emissions (a similar share of carbon dioxide as global aviation, shipping and rail transport). If we replace at least part of them with wood, we will significantly reduce the carbon footprint of building structures, ”says B. Egert. UBM always intends to subject each of its next planned projects to an analysis of whether it can be built using an ecological hybrid wooden structure. The use of wood also brings a number of economic benefits: construction from lightweight prefabricated wood modules minimizes transport, shortens construction time and reduces construction costs on site. Wood is thus fully competitive with other building materials from an economic point of view.
The company builds on its previous experience in the implementation of pilot projects with a wooden structure, of which we can name the pilot project UBM rams.7, a residential complex completed last year in Vienna consisting of seven buildings. While the six buildings were built using traditional construction methods, the four-storey “House 3” has a wooden structure and almost zero carbon footprint. The construction of Timber Pioneer, the first wooden office building in the Europaviertel business, financial and residential district of Frankfurt am Main, Germany, began last year. When completed in Q2 2023, it will offer more than 14,000 m2 of office space and approximately 1,000 sqm of retail space on the ground floor.
In the Czech Republic, family houses are being built of wood, and UBM is one of the pioneers in the construction of larger residential wooden buildings.
“Wooden construction is becoming a trend for a sustainable future,” says Josef Wiedermann, CEO of UBM Development Czechia. “After experience from abroad, we are preparing a pilot project in the Arcus City residential complex, in which third-stage apartment buildings will be partially built in a combination of wood and other building materials.” David Lukas, architect at UBM Development Czechia, adds Insufficient experience with this type of construction in our country prevents home and office buildings in the Czech Republic. Today, only components for industrial buildings are produced from wood in the country. On the other hand, wooden family houses are relatively common.”
In the Czech Republic, the situation is considerably complicated by the current legislation enabling the construction of structures using wood up to a maximum fire height of 12 meters. An apartment building can only have four floors. In the world, however, hybrid timber structures already exceed these limits many times over. Buildings up to 100 meters are currently being prepared, such as the Rocket residential high-rise building in Lokstadt, Winterthur, Switzerland from the Danish architectural studio SHL – Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects, the 12-storey Timber House by British architects Adjaye Associates in Toronto, Canada and many more).
However, according to David Lukas, the differences in technical regulations are slowly but surely diminishing. “All our projects are environmentally friendly to have a minimal impact on the climate. And because at UBM we are aiming to achieve the Green Deal climate neutrality goal in the construction of not only residential but also office and hotel buildings, it is only logical that we are increasingly leaning towards wooden structures as a very environmentally friendly and fully recyclable material. In connection with the sustainable production and use of energy from renewable sources, we can significantly reduce CO2 emissions throughout the entire life cycle of buildings,” concludes D. Lukas.
