CLT + Organic Food = A Good Site Visit
What started out as a cold & gloomy winter day ended up as a truly inspiring one!
We spent the afternoon in a small city near Budapest, called Veresegyház, meeting András, a contractor & joiner specialised in Cross-laminated Timber (CLT) construction. He has showed us around in one of his projects, which happens to be his own house.
The house is quite large, just above 300 square meters, sporting some cool 'extras', such as a joinery workshop in the garage and a boutique kitchen upstairs, aimed at teaching people from around town to cook mouthwatering dishes using organic home-grown ingredients.
The atmosphere was just the right one, and while looking at all the construction details, we had plenty of time to discuss & share our views on the importance of using timber as a key component of sustainable housing, and the future of CLT construction.
It is refreshing to see that the tide is finally turning in Hungary with more and more people understanding the benefits of using healthy natural materials for their homes, and the role of such construction practice in reducing harmful emissions.
At the same time, a booming Hungarian construction sector in recent years led to a shortage of workers & high labour costs, making CLT price-competitive when compared with traditional masonry-type structural systems.
The notoriously strict Hungarian fire code (Országos Tűzvédelmi Szabályzat, OTSZ) is also adopting a somewhat supportive approach to structural timber, currently allowing buildings up to four storeys to be built of CLT. There is a long way to go, but the current trends are not less than promising.
We said goodbye with a firm handshake and despite the unkind weather we left inspired and in a forward-looking mood to the working with András' team on our next CLT building.
Remember, timber is the concrete of the 21st century.
#EQXprojects #EQXnews #EQXnetwork #CLT #crosslaminatedtimber #timberconstruction #housing #sustainabledesign #naturalmaterials #natureisthefuture