Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade Proposes Allowing Multi‑Story Wooden Buildings

![Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade proposes allowing construction of multi‑storey wooden houses](https://images.haubau.pro/storage/assets/images/news/15.06.2016/doma-is-dereva.jpg "Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade proposes allowing construction of multi‑storey wooden houses)
Large‑scale use of wooden structures is a key direction in the development of the construction industry, asserts the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Denis Manturov. According to him, Russia is already actively adopting promising technologies such as glued‑timber (glulam) construction and glued panels, and in the next few years the volume of wooden house construction could increase by 10‑12% annually.

In order to fully exploit the potential of wood, the minister believes it is necessary to amend the current legislation, in particular to lift the ban on building wooden high‑rise structures—i.e., buildings taller than three floors.

“Given the trend of constructing multi‑storey wooden structures, which is rapidly developing abroad, we need to revise the design standards for buildings over three stories to incorporate new timber materials,” Manturov said at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

The minister called on the head of the government to order changes to construction programmes, including quotas for wooden housing and preferential mortgages for purchasing wooden homes.

“Demand could be increased by offering favorable mortgage terms specifically for buying wooden houses. This should be reflected at the regional level, especially in areas where the factories are located—by actively including wooden housing in their construction programmes. Secondly, regarding building regulations for structures over three stories, a decision should be made to include wooden houses in that list,” Manturov explained.

One of the most famous wooden high‑rise buildings in Russia was the “Sutyagin House” in Arkhangelsk. Construction began in 1992 and by 2008 the building stood as a 13‑storey structure about 38 m tall. The local court deemed the unapproved construction illegal and ordered its demolition. In late 2008‑2009 the upper nine floors were dismantled. The reduced four‑storey “house” remained for another three years until it burned down in a fire in May 2012.