Krasnaya izba with floors: will wooden skyscrapers be in demand in Russia
During the year, Russia will begin implementing projects for the construction of wooden apartment buildings up to five floors, said Vladimir Koshelev, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Construction and Housing and Communal Services. According to him, tests are currently underway to determine whether buildings can withstand direct flame exposure, and the indicators are already "good." Izvestia investigated whether multi-storey wooden houses will appear in Russia and how much such housing will be in demand and cheap.
When will the construction start
Vladimir Koshelev said that tests of high-rise multi-storey buildings are already underway with the fire services. According to him, within about a year, "projects will begin to be actively implemented."..> average number of floors, up to five floors."
According to him, the tests show "good indicators" of protection from direct flame exposure, and the buildings are "earthquake—resistant" - and this characteristic, according to him, is "much higher" than that of reinforced concrete and brick houses.
In March 2024, Deputy head of the Ministry of Construction Sergey Muzychenko said that the construction of wooden multi-storey buildings in Russia could be launched in two years. He promised that after completing all the research and issuing regulatory documents, "a lot of developers and investors will come who want to invest in the construction of wooden facilities."
In August 2023, it was noted that the issue of building wooden high-rise buildings would be studied in Moscow.
The roadmap for the development of wooden housing construction for the period up to 2024 was approved in 2022 by the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia. It provided for carrying out a whole range of research and development work to ensure the fire, mechanical and seismic safety of wooden structures. It was proposed to build public and residential buildings from three to 12 floors of cross-glued timber (CLT), laminated laminated timber and the same veneer material (LVL).
What are the advantages of wooden houses?
Ilya Wolfson, a deputy of the Russian State Duma, calls wooden house construction "a very promising area of the construction industry."
— Wood is a lightweight and eco—friendly material that is convenient and quick to work with. And most importantly, it allows for significant savings both during the construction phase and during the operation of buildings," he told Izvestia. — Firstly, the tree perfectly keeps warm in winter and cool in summer. This means less spending on heating and air conditioners. Secondly, due to the lower weight, wooden houses do not require heavy and expensive foundations — this is also a big saving. Finally, wooden structures are easier to process — such houses are not only cheaper, but also faster to build.
According to him, the use of modern CLT panels - layers of softwood lamellae glued together — makes it possible to build a building three times faster than an ordinary brick or concrete house.
MP Sergey Kolunov notes that such houses "practically do not sit down," they are eco—friendly and warm, and the country has "a huge amount of necessary material." Denis Voronov, an expert of the Business Russia Committee on construction, notes that in the Irkutsk Region alone, forest resources suitable for economically efficient development occupy 15.1 million hectares, or 24% of the forested lands of the region's forest fund, and in the Krasnoyarsk Territory — 26.8 million cubic meters.
— With a high degree of factory readiness, there is a minimum number of "wet" processes, — Sergey Kolunov continues to list the advantages of wooden house construction. — Accordingly, it is possible to carry out construction in conditions of very low (at -60 degrees) and very high (at +40) temperatures. But the cost depends on the volume and participation of the state in the process: if the business is put on stream, it will become more economical than monolithic construction.
Sergey Katyrin, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, believes that wooden houses with a height of up to six floors have a large potential market in earthquake-prone regions or regions of the Far North and hard-to-reach places.
—For example, in the Altai Territory, where the seismic is 8 points, it will be much clearer and easier to build a house with five floors from CLT or MHM panels," he told Izvestia. — If we take Norilsk or Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, where it is very difficult to get there, there are also seismics and the ground for the foundation is permafrost, therefore it is much more profitable to build from CLT, glued beams and MHM panels both in money and in time than from traditional materials.
At the same time, he notes that while the population still has a very serious stereotype — when they talk about a wooden multi-storey house, a barrack appears in their mind.
"A wooden country house or a wooden cottage is great, it's prestigious, and a multi—storey apartment building is still a barrack," says Sergey Katyrin. — Therefore, in my opinion, the construction of hotels will go first. Multi—storey wooden hotels will be the very first thing that will be in demand.
After that, he believes, "office buildings will be built," and only after people live in wooden multi-storey hotels and work in wooden offices, the active development of wooden residential multi-storey construction will begin.
—And as soon as we have new large facilities where public opinion leaders — artists, politicians, and others - will live, public awareness will begin abruptly," said Sergey Katyrin.
The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations told Izvestia that since 2022, together with the Ministry of Construction, they have been conducting research to study the fire danger of wooden high-rise buildings.
—In particular, 63 fire tests were conducted on the stability of the main wooden load—bearing and enclosing building structures," the department said. — 10 types of materials used on escape routes and for finishing and wall cladding have been tested.
Last year, fragments of three-storey houses were tested at the Orenburg landfill of the VNIIPO branch of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations to form a mathematical model of the behavior of such buildings in case of fire and to develop an approach for mathematically determining fire safety requirements. Based on the tests, a draft set of rules "Multi-apartment residential buildings using structures made of wood and wood materials" has been prepared. The project has been publicly discussed on the official website of Rosstandart, the proposals received are being analyzed, and the final version of the document is being prepared.
Oleg Filippov, Chairman of the Opora Russia — Moscow Construction Committee, believes that the cost of housing in such houses is expected to be 20-30% cheaper than in stone ones. However, Anton Nikolaevich Glushkov, president of the National Association of Builders (NOSTROI), notes that while the construction of high-rise buildings made of wood has not become widespread, the price of such housing will be high.
Nevertheless, Denis Voronov points out, there are already the first examples of the construction of high—rise buildings made of wood in Russia - for example, in the village of Lozhok in the Novosibirsk region, where a four-story building was erected using a wooden frame made of LVL timber, in Chita, where a four-story house with walls made of wooden SIP panels was commissioned in 2024.
However, so far, the development of wooden multi-apartment housing, even in Siberia, where there is a lot of material for this, is hampered by several factors: the lack of a production base in the immediate vicinity of Siberian urban agglomerations; lack of a competitive supply of "house kits" from wood-based structures; insufficient regulatory and technical base.
Is it dangerous to live in such a house
Denis Voronov notes that after 2022, on behalf of the President of Russia, an active adjustment of regulatory and technical regulation began within the framework of state policy for the development of the timber industry and the construction industry. After that, field tests and additional calculations began, and the safety requirements for wooden structures were clarified and changed.
— For example, the restrictions for the design and construction of facilities in conditions of increased seismic danger have already been changed, — said the interlocutor of Izvestia.
According to him, the first tests on the fire resistance of materials using wood were carried out in the summer, but there is still no information about the completion of scientific work. Therefore, various methods of structural protection of materials are still being used, which leads to an increase in the cost of construction.
Sergey Katyrin said that the tests really showed good results: the structures withstood more than an hour and a half of fire, did not collapse, but only charred.
"However, everyone who follows the construction and architectural trends of the world, even without these tests, sees the world experience, which shows how safe a modern multi—storey wooden house is," the source told Izvestia. — In order for massive glued wood to catch fire, it needs to be heated strongly enough — up to 270 degrees — and that there is something inside that supports gorenje. Just by throwing a cigarette butt on a piece of wood, it won't light up, and the house won't burst into flames entirely.
He added that dormitories, apartment buildings, and hotels with restaurants and swimming pools 70-90 m high are being built abroad. This experience shows that a wooden house made of engineered wood is an absolutely safe building that meets all modern requirements.
Ilya Wolfson notes that wooden buildings with a height of up to 18 floors have already been built and successfully operated in Norway, Sweden, the USA and other countries. Katyrin calls the 70-storey wooden skyscraper in Tokyo 350 m high, which will house offices, apartments and hotels, the most ambitious project to date.
At the same time, Anton Glushkov notes that according to the roadmap for the development of wooden housing construction, after successful tests, their results should be reflected in standards and codes of rules according to which wooden high-rise buildings will be designed and built.
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