Will there be wooden skyscrapers?

Construction Minister Irek Fayzullin announced the future construction of nine-story wooden houses in Russia.

The word “skyscrapers” in the title is subjective and at the same time objective. After all, citizens of different generations have their own perception and their own memories. So, I remember what an event in the early 1970s in my home provincial town was the construction of two nine-story towers. They were even called skyscrapers in conversations.

Those two towers still towered over our city in splendid isolation for a long time. And we, arriving in Moscow, said to our metropolitan acquaintances: “Something about your nine-story buildings are somehow low.”

And now they will be erected from a bar?

Therefore, perhaps, the statement of the Minister of Construction attracted attention:

“The potential for wood construction is huge. For the implementation of the first four-story houses, the following were analyzed: the technical side, that is, the bearing capacity of the object, the side of fire safety and sanitary … Today, we already have documentation for nine-story objects in the examination, which may be built in the future.” (http://council.gov.ru/events/news/143236/)

Yes, in January, the first two wooden four-story houses received residents in the district town of Sokol, Vologda Region. This probably determined the zone of their construction – small towns. Because in megacities, especially in Moscow and St. Petersburg, land is insanely expensive, and no one will “spend” it on nine-story buildings. Yes, even wooden ones.

In general, the opinions of experts are divided. The official side emphasizes that this is an environmentally friendly housing, moreover, cheap in production, not forgetting, of course, to refer to abroad. Others object. The paradox is that among the critics is Alexander Dubovenko, the founder of the Good Wood company, which specializes in the construction and sale of houses from glued laminated timber. He erected the first four-storey wooden office building in Russia. But nine-story buildings …

“I have been in such houses in Europe. And they can hardly be called economically attractive there, people are afraid to buy apartments in these buildings, so they are mostly rented for now. As a result, the commercial efficiency of this property is low. In every city – in London, Milan – there is approximately one wooden high-rise building for the whole city, and such an object is more used as a tourist one. Nine-story buildings may appear in Russia tomorrow. Here the question again rests on commercial efficiency … And in the end, to whom will you sell these apartments then?

Not everything is unambiguous with cheapness in production. It is believed that there is something, but forests in Russia cannot be eliminated! Must be cheap…

“But the main constraint is the high cost,” says Andrey Bannov, a leading specialist at Technonikol, a large Russian company. – If a cube of concrete, including reinforcement, will cost about 15 thousand rubles, then a cube of glued beams today costs more than 40 thousand. With such a difference in price, the choice of technology is obvious. During construction, important fire-fighting measures will have to be taken into account: concrete stairwells, exterior and interior finishes made of non-combustible materials.”

Let’s look at the manufacturers’ websites. So, in Tambov, a cubic meter of concrete, excluding reinforcement, and with delivery, is sold at a price of 4,450 to 7,500 rubles, depending on the brand of cement. (https://beton68.turbo.site) A cubic meter of glued laminated timber in the same Tambov – up to 65 thousand rubles. (tambov.bruskupit.ru)

Yes, on a large scale, with the in-line production of wood panels, the cost will decrease. But how much and when will it be. Is it beneficial for private companies? Except with the support of the state.

In addition, 40 – 65 thousand per cubic meter of glued laminated timber is the price of the raw material. Further, multilayer glued wooden wall panels are made from it using the CLT technology known in the West. Critics believe that no matter what the technology, a tree is a tree – moisture, fire hazard, weak resistance.

With the manufacture of reinforced concrete wall panels, everything has long been obvious, worked out over many decades. And the production of glued wood panels requires the development of new, higher technologies, scrupulous observance of them. What’s the regulation there? Who will follow him?

The issues are relevant in view of the fact that in this area for 20 years now it is not clear what has been going on, to put it mildly. Construction norms and rules (SNiP) were canceled in 2002. I have written more than once that canceling SNiP is the same as canceling the Criminal Code. The results are visible to everyone – multi-storey buildings are being built window-to-window, and the talk of old engineers and architects about insolation, about the absence of sunlight, is already perceived as relic naivety.

Instead, they began to introduce some current regulations. Then, nevertheless, they adopted Government Decree No. 815 of May 28, 2021 on the approval of the list of national standards and codes of practice.

Then they adopted a new “Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 20, 2022 No. 914 “On Amendments to the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 28, 2021 N 815”.

In professional circles, it is called the resolution “on the abolition of a thousand SNiPs.”

This is not a metaphor or hyperbole, in the sense of exaggeration. On the contrary, it is an understatement.

Before that, the head of the Ministry of Construction, Irek Fayzullin, said this:

“We corrected the first resolution last year – up to 3,000 norms were transferred to the voluntary area. Now at the stage of signing a government decree, where 3802 more norms become voluntary.”

Together it turns out 6802.

At the same time, he assured that the rejection of the norms would not affect the safety of the housing being built.

But what does “voluntary” mean? I want to – instead of the I-beam of the channel I will put a single-tee? And then I’ll change my mind and still put an I-beam, but exclusively voluntarily?

Of course, many SNiPs, some of which were adopted almost in the 1930s, are outdated. Modernization is needed. But the actual abolition of 6800 norms and rules is not too much.

“In my opinion, chaos is happening in the construction industry,” said Mikhail Khazanov, vice president of the Union of Moscow Architects, bluntly. – Interested people should not be allowed to follow the regulations, since they will turn all the norms in their favor and to the minus of all other people. At the time of the lifting of the standards, security issues will be at particular risk. ”

In the meantime, we will wait for nine-story wooden houses.

Sergei Baimukhametov.

On the picture: the first wooden four-story houses in the city of Sokol, Vologda region.