A Lithuanian town is planning a development of wooden apartment buildings, saying it could serve as an example for the rest of the country. The government, meanwhile, wants to have all new public buildings include more natural materials.
The town of Anyksciai, in northeast Lithuania, has set aside two plots of land for wooden developments – apartment buildings up to four storeys high. The municipality has now invited developers to submit designs.
The lower floors could be used for shops and offices, while the upper floors are intended for living, the municipality says.
“We will be asking to design modular structures, which would allow to build bigger blocks,” says Daiva Gasiuniene of Anyksciai Municipality. “These modules could then also serve as an example for other towns.”
Construction companies say that natural materials, especially timber, are becoming increasingly popular, not least because of the EU’s green deal.
A wood-rocessing company in Akmene, in the north of Lithuania, mostly produces boards for furniture, but has recently opened a production line for construction materials. Among the planned products are wooden modular building structures.
“I don’t think construction with natural materials will be cheaper, but it will have other advantages,” says Ingrida Berzanskyte, design group head of SBA Modular. “These include the speed of construction and production technologies. This means that more of the construction will be carried out in the factory and less on the building site.”
The Architect Mantas Navalinskas is designing an office building for a logistics firm near Kaunas – with wood dominating the facade and interiors.
Timber is both an environmentally friendly and beautiful material, he says, although the biggest challenge in designing wooden buildings is meeting fire safety requirements.
“Although I should note that, in cases of fire, wood is a far more stable and predictable material than metal,” he says. “You can design and calculate the effects of fire and plan compensatory mechanisms to make the building safe.”
The Lithuanian government is now drafting regulations that would see all future public buildings be at least 50% built of natural materials.
The Environment Ministry has also drafted proposals to allow constructing higher wooden buildings.
“How much taller will depend on engineering solutions,” says Dainius Cergelis of the Environment Ministry.
In this area, Lithuania is taking cues from Scandinavia, where there are hardly any limits for how tall wooden buildings can be. A few years ago, Norway inaugurated a wooden skyscraper, rising 85 meters.
Lithuania plans to enact the new regulations until 2024. (LRT/Business World Magazine)