MOSCOW, April 28. /TASS/. Wooden house building technologies are attractive for the Arctic regions, as they are cost-effective and may be used in low temperatures - this is specifically important in addressing the problem of emergency housing. However, outdated regulations and a lack of certification hinder use of modern technologies, said experts interviewed by TASS.

In February, at a meeting in the Arkhangelsk Region on the woodworking sector's development, Russia's President Vladimir Putin instructed authorities to use low-rise wooden houses more widely to resettle people from emergency houses, to build up the production of prefabricated houses, and also to use wood in building social infrastructure facilities.

"Wooden house construction, of course, can be used in the Russian Arctic. One of the main advantages is much lighter structures and thus lighter houses, which means less load onto the soil, which is extremely important in terms on the permafrost thawing in the Arctic," said Igor Tarasov, Director of the Civil Engineering Institute at the Siberian Federal University.

Wood construction has lower logistics costs, short installation terms, and the raw materials base is nearby, he continued. Wooden house construction may continue in any season, while reinforced concrete requires specific solutions if used in freezing temperatures.

Another aspect is related to fire safety for apartment buildings. According to Denis Moskvin, director of the Karelian Profile Company, a prefabricated houses producer, though over recent 15-20 years Russia has been using many construction technologies for wood construction and non-combustible insulation, practically none of them are certified, and businesses have to comply with regulations of the 1960s. Noteworthy, the work to update regulations is underway - the efforts come from both the government and large holdings that can afford investing big money in certification. "DOM.RF has been putting together a registrar of wooden house companies that will be able to participate in public procurement and tenders. We have been also formalizing the certification process, we are filing papers," he said.

Nevertheless, even with the existing regulations, the Arctic regions are able to build social facilities and to resettle people from emergency housing: there are no problems with available territories; and the housing production can be increased by using wider foundations, not by making high-rise houses.

Social facilities and emergency housing

As of 2021, from January 1, 2012 to January 1, 2017, the emergency housing stock in the Arctic zone made 2.6 million square meters, the Russian Ministry of Construction reported. The share of housing located in the Arctic zone and recognized as emergency housing is more than 25% of the entire emergency housing across the country.

The Arkhangelsk Region has included into a state program to relocate people from emergency houses about 800,000 square meters. Karelia - more than 1 million square meters, where about 20% are in the Arctic districts - that is more than 400 houses, the local authorities said. Every other house in Norilsk is in emergency conditions. Additionally, Northern districts lack social facilities: primary healthcare stations, outpatient clinics, leisure facilities.

Scandinavian countries use actively wooden house construction. Finland, for example, permits building frame wooden houses of five to six floors. Wood retains heat, and high-quality insulation may bring energy efficiency of such houses to the highest A++ level.

Experts point to different attitudes to wooden house construction in Russia. This may be explained by the fact that most emergency houses are made of wood. Thus, some people say wood is not a very attractive material. For example, Yamal's authorities plan to relocate before 2025 people from 1 million square meters of emergency housing, relying on capital reinforced concrete construction, where they eye wood as an exception only, "for example, to build one-or two-floor apartment buildings in hard-to-reach settlements," and for independent houses.

Nevertheless, in many regions authorities can see wooden house construction as an interesting direction in the industrial development. For example, the Segezha Group (a part of AFK Sistema) has built first four-floor houses in the city of Sokol (near Vologda) of CLT (cross-laminated timber) wall panels, a material popular in the West. Those are cross-glued layers of coniferous wood, comparable with strong concrete. Margarita Li, the group's vice president, told TASS about the demand for such houses.

"More than half (of the stock) has already been sold out, while most of the remaining (prefabricated) houses have been reserved. In my opinion, this is a very good indicator for Sokol. Over decades, the city has not upgraded the housing stock. Thus, our block of flats is very attractive for the locals. Noteworthy, many clients have noted the CLT technology was an additional bonus, a final reason to buy an apartment," she said, adding the project had benefited from the incentive to offer mortgages to those willing to buy wooden houses.