Timber construction still only plays a minor role in Germany. This also applies to Thuringia. Yet the federal state has extensive forests. A huge opportunity – also for the local economy. Because wood is a key to sustainable construction. This is why the IBA Thuringia has committed itself to promoting timber construction. And it is receiving active support.
Timber construction still only plays a minor role in Germany. This also applies to Thuringia. Yet the federal state has extensive forests. A huge opportunity – also for the local economy. Because wood is a key to sustainable construction. This is why the IBA Thuringia has committed itself to promoting timber construction. And it is receiving active support.
Wood is undoubtedly the sustainable material of the hour. The architectural world seems to agree on this despite temporary material shortages and the associated cost increases. The advantages are obvious. It is renewable, regionally available, comparatively light and enables a high degree of prefabrication, which significantly reduces construction time. Added to this are the ecological benefits, as every timber element used in a building bindsCO2 in the long term. In a construction industry that is responsible for a large proportion of global carbon dioxide emissions and the depletion of finite raw materials, wood can therefore be a significant part of a climate-conscious strategy.
In Thuringia, the raw material wood is abundant; around 34 percent of the area is covered with forest. This is estimated to be around 330 million trees, two thirds of which are conifers, whose wood is best suited to the manufacture of building components. Primarily spruce, pine, fir, Douglas fir and larch. Despite its availability, however, wood has hardly played a role as a building material in Thuringia to date. This is in stark contrast to Switzerland and Austria, where timber architecture has been an integral part of building culture for decades. While high-rise buildings are already being constructed from this natural raw material in other places, confidence in wood as a reliable and sustainable building material only seems to be growing very gradually in Germany.
Increasing the proportion of wood in construction is one of the goals that the IBA Thuringia has set itself. “The question: ‘Can we also realize this in regional timber construction?’ is a given for every project at the beginning,” says Tobias Haag, one of the IBA project managers. “Wood supports the objectives of the IBA in many ways in the concrete implementation of our projects. That’s why it’s a special cross-cutting theme,” says Haag, who as an architect himself worked for a renowned Swiss timber construction company for a long time. His experience makes him an expert in this field.
However, it is not just about wood as a replacement for more energy-intensive materials. Tobias Haag emphasizes that the potential of this natural material should also be exploited in terms of architecture and design: “The model projects should always be innovative in the sense of exploring new possibilities.” This means that each individual project is not a self-contained case, but can be used as a kind of research object to advance development.
A good example of this is the Timber Prototype House, which was erected on the site of the Eiermann Building in Apolda. The small wooden pavilion is constructed from spruce frames that were designed and milled using digital technology. The result is a lively, curved structure that you would not expect from wood. Milled-in air chambers replace an additional layer of insulation. The use of wooden dowels meant that gluing and screws could be almost completely dispensed with. Technically and aesthetically, the prototype can therefore be seen as a signpost and a glimpse into the future of timber construction.
But first back to the raw material. Anyone asking why Thuringia is not yet a strong location for timber construction, even though there is so much forest, has to start looking for answers there. The Thuringia Forestry Agency (Landesforstanstalt ThüringenForst) is the central point of contact for this, as it not only manages the Thuringian state forest, but also has sovereignty over the entire forest. The state forest accounts for around 37 percent of the entire forest in the state, while around 41 percent is privately owned. 16 percent is owned by corporate bodies such as municipalities and districts.
“It’s a very diverse forest that we have here,” explains Philipp-Emanuel Rehpenning, an employee of ThüringenForst in the timber marketing and logistics department. “From steep slopes to flat, level locations, from beech to spruce and pine, almost all tree species are represented here in Thuringia.” In the southern part of the Thuringian Forest, with altitudes of up to 900 meters, spruce is particularly prevalent. In contrast, beech dominates in the north towards the Kyffhäuserkreis. Rehpenning is convinced that the existing resources on the doorstep should be used: “We still have potential in our current forests. This means that the forest is more productive than what we are currently using.” For him, however, sustainability – a term that was first used in a forestry treatise at the beginning of the 18th century – does not just mean harvesting less than will grow back: “We need to develop the forest further. To make the forest fit for the future, we need a mixed forest rich in species and structure.”
In view of the climatic changes that are becoming apparent worldwide, making the forest fit seems to be an urgent necessity. Extreme weather events such as storms and drought have characterized the last few years in this country. “And in addition to these extreme events, there were also favorable conditions for the proliferation of the bark beetle, which attacks spruce in particular,” reports Rehpenning. However, the lack of precipitation even affected the beech, which for many years was considered a particularly robust tree species. For the trained forester, the solution therefore lies in diversity: “We should move away from one tree species that is supposed to fix everything and towards a forest that is rich in tree species and also has many age classes.” But this will not happen on its own: “Where we have pure spruce or beech stands, we have to provide a certain input in the form of planting. We can also promote individual tree species through targeted maintenance,” says Rehpenning. For him, nature conservation, forest use and recreational function are not separate categories, but can easily be considered together as a three-step process. ‘Multifunctional forestry’ is the keyword here.
If you follow the path of the wood on its way to the building, the sawmill comes after the forest and the felling of the trees. There are several large and a few medium-sized sawmills in Thuringia that produce boards and beams from the raw tree trunks, which can then be further processed into products. However, there has been a lack of companies in this region that are capable of such processing and finishing stages. As a result, the Free State of Bavaria is, as it were, a supplier of raw materials and exports a large proportion of its timber to other federal states or even other countries.
Rettenmeier, based in Wilburgstetten in central Franconia, is one of the few wood processing companies that also manufactures products for the construction industry, in particular solid structural timber, at its site in Hirschberg in southern Thuringia. Dr. Stephan Lang, Managing Director of Rettenmeier, notes a north-south divide in the spread of timber construction in Germany: “We have a relatively strong timber construction industry in the south, which is declining towards the north. This has less to do with the availability of timber and more to do with the way people live. It wasn’t too long ago that wooden houses were still seen as something inferior.” For him, the key is therefore to break down prejudices through particularly good examples: “When you see people walking past a great new timber building, I’ve rarely seen anyone not be enthusiastic about it. I think it is very important that we start to establish timber construction in Thuringia with flagship projects.”
Alliances of timber stakeholders
However, Lang sees a need to catch up not only socially, but also politically: “Throughout Germany, we still have state building regulations that put timber construction at a disadvantage. Although wood should not be favored, it should at least be on an equal footing with stone and brick.” In addition to his role as Managing Director, Lang is also Chairman of the State Advisory Board for Forests and Wood. This is an association of various players from the timber industry that works to strengthen the regional value chain in Thuringia and approaches politicians with its demands.
Not only industry and forest owners are organized in the Forest and Wood Advisory Council, but also representatives from forestry and science. For example, Prof. Erik Findeisen, Dean of the Faculty of Landscape Architecture, Horticulture and Forestry at Erfurt University of Applied Sciences. Thanks to his work at the university and his many years of contact with forest owners, entrepreneurs and wood processing companies, Findeisen is one of the most important networkers in the forest and wood sector in Thuringia. “It is important to take a holistic view. If we only tinker with individual adjustments, we won’t be able to achieve success in the end,” says Findeisen. In fact, he has a view of wood as a material that goes beyond questions of ecology and economy: “In these structurally weak regions where wood grows – especially in the Thuringian Forest – we have a massive exodus of young people and families. There is a lack of jobs. Of course, this is accompanied by an increasingly uninteresting village structure. I am convinced that this can be reversed by bringing this added value back to the Thuringian Forest.”
If you follow the path of the wood on its way to the building, the sawmill comes after the forest and the felling of the trees. There are several large and a few medium-sized sawmills in Thuringia that produce boards and beams from the raw tree trunks, which can then be further processed into products. However, there has been a lack of companies in the region that can carry out these processing and finishing stages. As a result, the Free State of Bavaria is, as it were, a supplier of raw materials and exports a large proportion of its timber to other federal states or even other countries.
Rettenmeier, based in Wilburgstetten in central Franconia, is one of the few wood processing companies that also manufactures products for the construction industry, in particular solid structural timber, at its site in Hirschberg in southern Thuringia. Dr. Stephan Lang, Managing Director of Rettenmeier, notes a north-south divide in the spread of timber construction in Germany: “We have a relatively strong timber construction industry in the south, which is declining towards the north. This has less to do with the availability of timber and more to do with the way people live. It wasn’t too long ago that wooden houses were still seen as something inferior.” For him, the key is therefore to break down prejudices through particularly good examples: “When you see people walking past a great new timber building, I’ve rarely seen anyone not be enthusiastic about it. I think it is very important that we start to establish timber construction in Thuringia with flagship projects.”
However, Lang sees a need to catch up not only socially, but also politically: “Throughout Germany, we still have state building regulations that put timber construction at a disadvantage. Although wood should not be favored, it should at least have the same status as stone and brick.” In addition to his role as Managing Director, Lang is also Chairman of the State Advisory Board for Forests and Wood. This is an association of various players from the timber industry that works to strengthen the regional value chain in Thuringia and approaches politicians with its demands.
Not only industry and forest owners are organized in the Forest and Wood Advisory Council, but also representatives from forestry and science. For example, Prof. Erik Findeisen, Dean of the Faculty of Landscape Architecture, Horticulture and Forestry at Erfurt University of Applied Sciences. Thanks to his work at the university and his many years of contact with forest owners, entrepreneurs and wood processing companies, Findeisen is one of the most important networkers in the forest and wood sector in Thuringia. “It is important to take a holistic view. If we only tinker with individual adjustments, we won’t be able to achieve success in the end,” says Findeisen. In fact, he has a view of wood as a material that goes beyond questions of ecology and economy: “In these structurally weak regions where wood grows – especially in the Thuringian Forest – we have a massive exodus of young people and families. There is a lack of jobs. Of course, this is accompanied by an increasingly uninteresting village structure. I am convinced that this can be reversed by bringing this added value back to the Thuringian Forest.”
It is therefore also a social vision that is linked to strengthening the timber industry and timber construction. In this way, the timber construction theme is at the heart of the IBA’s efforts – namely to reach rural areas again with optimistic narratives about the future and to strengthen them in the long term. The fact that this can really succeed can be seen in those places that have already taken a similar step. Vorarlberg in Austria is particularly worthy of mention here. In recent decades, timber architecture has developed into a central trademark there, driven by a series of progressive buildings that combine progressive design language with traditional craftsmanship. Vorarlberg is now regarded worldwide as the avant-garde of modern timber construction, both in terms of architecture and technical craftsmanship. A reputation that also radiates to the entire region.
Of course, there are still some obstacles to overcome before such a scenario can become a reality in Thuringia. Last year, the Free State of Thuringia paved the way for the increased use of wood by amending its building regulations. There should also be a greater focus on designing with wood, according to IBA project manager Tobias Haag. “Wood is not only relevant for architecture because of its ecological footprint, but in particular because of its visual and haptic potential, which can become tangible and visible if the material is used appropriately.”
However, it is not only equality that the stakeholders are calling for; many also consider specific funding opportunities for timber construction to be necessary. For Professor Findeisen, there must be room for innovation: “It is important to look for new opportunities in the field of research and also help start-ups to establish themselves, train staff and create jobs.” For him, all that is needed is an initial spark: “A climate must be created in which young people dare to take up such ideas and start companies again.” The IBA Thuringia projects can be seen as just such sparks, such as the Sch(l)afstall in Bedheim or the planned conversion and new construction of the lake sports and adventure education center on the Thuringian Sea.
One thing is certain: there are numerous people in Thuringia who enthusiastically believe in the possibilities and potential of wood. In 2021, for example, another timber construction alliance was founded under the leadership of the Baukultur Thüringen Foundation, in which key players along the forest-wood-construction value chain are joining forces. Marta Doehler-Behzadi, Managing Director of IBA Thuringia, is convinced that the time is ripe for innovative and contemporary timber construction in Thuringia: “The opportunities lie in the close interaction between business and science on the one hand, and in convinced clients who are now increasingly building in timber on the other. The IBA Thuringia offers a window of opportunity to make timber construction a Thuringian trademark.” Perhaps one day Thuringia will even be able to develop its very own architectural style typical of the state, based on sustainable forestry, high-quality workmanship and contemporary design and technical forms.
This article is published with the kind support of IBA Thüringen.
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