The Czech Republic lacks a sustainable construction strategy in which multi-story wooden buildings would play a significant role in solving the housing crisis, ministers agreed with timber producers and foresters.

This is the headline of a press release issued after a February seminar on wooden buildings held at the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic.

“Wooden buildings and wooden structural elements are one of the ways to strengthen the Czech wood sector. Moreover, a way that can contribute to solving the housing crisis. If we want to use the benefits of wood from our forests and prevent the main added value from its production from flowing abroad, we must look for ways to strengthen the use of wood in the country,” emphasized Zdeněk Zajíček, President of the Chamber of Commerce of the Czech Republic, at the seminar.

Director Beránková participates in the activities of the Woodworking Industry Section of the Chamber of Commerce of the Czech Republic, which was the co-organizer of this professional meeting at the highest level.

The goal of the wood sector is for new multi-storey wood-based apartment buildings in the Czech Republic to account for at least 20% of construction by 2035 and for the state sector to prioritize the construction of public buildings with a higher share of wood as part of the state’s decarbonization policy, according to speakers.

“It is not usual for such a large sector to unite and present clearly defined goals and a path to achieve them. As a legislator, I must reflect on such a broad platform of experts in the interest of supporting a newly emerging market segment so that wood-based construction can develop dynamically in the Czech Republic,” said Michal Kučera, chairman of the parliamentary agriculture committee.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade is preparing changes to support and develop multi-storey wooden buildings.

„Wood has significant business potential that we are not fully utilizing. The Czech Republic produces approximately 15 million cubic meters of wood annually, but a significant portion is exported abroad and returns to us in the form of final products with added value.We have finally decided to change this, and so we are now working intensively on the change – we want to ensure that the economic benefits and added value remain in the Czech Republic and that wood finds wider application, for example in the construction industry. Among the key measures we are preparing is the amendment of building standards and regulations, which will allow the construction of multi-storey wooden buildings, as is common to the north and west of us.Our goal is to expand the possibilities of the Czech construction industry, support innovation in the field, economic growth, contribute to a better environment, and increase the quality of life of residents.”I am glad that colleagues from other state organizations and the private sector have also joined the initiative, which we started at the beginning of the election period,” says Minister of Industry and Trade Lukáš Vlček, who was also involved in the greater use of wood in construction as a member of parliament.

Minister of Agriculture Marek Výborný emphasized the need to use Czech wood directly in the country.

“One of the ways to support the final processing of this sustainable raw material base in the Czech economy is the legislative changes being prepared. The first of these is the establishment of the Forestry and Timber Fund. Our priority continues to be to reduce the export of raw logs and to ensure that wood processing companies have sufficient quantities of wood of appropriate quality for processing and the creation of high added value, which will also have a positive effect on forest owners,” said Minister of Agriculture Marek Výborný.

In connection with dynamic technological development, the Minister also drew attention to the importance of awareness, education in wood processing fields, and investments in innovations in terms of processing deciduous trees, which will form a higher share of our forests in the future due to the adaptation of forests to changing growth conditions.

Complete press release:najdete na webu Hospodářské komory zde.

New obligations for construction products placed on the Czech market pursuant to Government Regulation No. 163/2002 Coll., as amended by Government Regulation No. 119/2024 Coll., apply from January 1, 2025.

From January 1, 2025, manufacturers/importers are required to include in their declaration of conformity all product characteristics that may affect compliance with at least one of the basic requirements for construction works.

Specific properties for a given product can be found in the Test Results Assessment Report.

Declarations of conformity issued before January 1, 2025, based on conformity assessments pursuant to §7 shall remain valid for the period specified therein.

Declarations of conformity issued before January 1, 2025, based on conformity assessments pursuant to Sections 5, 5a, 6, 8, and 9 shall remain valid until there is a change in the facts relevant to the issuance of the declaration, but no later than December 31, 2027.

At the same time, the manufacturer/importer must affix the Czech conformity mark CCZ. The CCZ mark shall be affixed to the product or, if this is not possible or appropriate, to the packaging or technical documentation.

Aktuální znění NV č. 163/2002 Sb.

Více informací a značku CCZ ke stažení naleznete zde na webu MPO.

If you have any questions, please contact: Ing. Štejfová, stejfova@vvud.cz, mobile: 739 569 323

Last year, representatives of the Diakonie Broumov social cooperative and I discussed methods of testing and certifying multipurpose building boards made from textile waste.

In our laboratory, we verified the properties of these boards according to the testing and classification methods of ten selected ČSN EN standards. The aim was to verify the mechanical and physical properties of the boards, the health aspect of the release of volatile substances, and fire resistance.

After the certificates are issued, the boards can be marketed not only in the Czech Republic, but also in the EU and other selected countries around the world.

Meeting with the presidential couple

A few days ago, building boards made from textile waste were presented to President Petr Pavlov and his wife Eva at a meeting with selected representatives of Czech innovative companies with export overlap.

Congratulations to Mr. Hendrichovský’s team from Diakonia for being chosen as a progressive innovator to present their products at the highest level!

We are pleased to have contributed to this success with our laboratory services and expertise. Our research and development team contributes to innovation for manufacturing companies across the woodworking industry.

The area of recycling and reuse of waste or secondary raw materials is also part of our activities. And it’s not our first time dealing with textile processing.

Board production line

The groundbreaking idea of processing textile waste into building boards continues with the establishment of a new company, TXB CZ (Textile Board), which will resell the products and also expand their portfolio.

President’s statement

President Petr Pavel commented on the meeting: “It is undeniable that innovation is the driving force of progress and there are great opportunities in fresh ideas. Yesterday, Eva and I, in cooperation with regional innovation centers, invited representatives of startup and inspiring companies to Lány, which help, inspire and enrich with their work and unique approach.

At the same time, we would like to use this meeting to motivate those regions in which innovation centers can only be created. Whether it is the production of optical systems for satellites, the use of artificial intelligence to detect heart arrhythmias, an application to support mental health, or the active use of virtual reality in education – you deserve great recognition for your courage and creativity, thanks to which you are moving the Czech Republic forward.

Tisková zpráva na webu Hradu.

You can see how Diakonie Broumov is taking its idea to the world. přečíst na webu Naše Broumovsko zde.

More about Diakonii na jejich webu.

At the beginning of May, the Chamber of Deputies hosted a seminar under the auspices of the Chair of the Committee on the Environment, Jana Krutáková, on the topic “Schools built from wood: a case study of the Republic of Finland”. The event was held in the presence of Nina Vaskunlahti, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Finland, Petri Heino, Programme Manager of the Ministry of the Environment of Finland and other persons from the Embassy of the Republic of Finland in Prague, invited companies with Finnish participation and expert guests.

The Timber Research Institute was also represented at the event. This was the second meeting on the use of wood in construction on the floor of the Chamber of Deputies. The topic of timber buildings will continue to be on the radar of MPs.

The seminar was organised by Tomáš Dubský, Josef Flek, Ondřej Lochman and Lukáš Vlček, Members of the Parliament of the Czech Republic.

In the second half of April, the opening evening of the Wooden Buildings Salon took place at CAMP, a project combining modern wooden buildings, architecture and responsible lifestyle. The Timber Research Institute was once again the expert partner of the event.

A video recording of the evening, including lectures by the excellent international guests Helmut Dietrich (NO) and Reiulf Ramstad (AT) can be viewed here.

The exhibition on a wooden installation is open until 17 May 2023 at nám. Václav Havel in the centre of Prague.

If you want to learn more about the exhibited projects, read interviews with foreign and domestic architects and have a closer idea of what awaits wooden architecture in the coming years, you can buy the publication WOOD ARCHITECTURE ANNUAL ´23.

More on the organizer’s website