An interview with Andrejs Domkins, Director of the Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry (the interview took place some time ago, but the views expressed are perfectly appropriate and very relevant for the week that began on 4 May!!!!)
When meeting with representatives of the forest industry, many emphasise problems with bureaucracy (requirements, permits, reports). Is the use of wood in construction, which is being talked about more and more loudly and frequently, also being hampered by various “bureaucratic requirements”?
Construction does require a certain amount of bureaucracy! In my opinion, everything is fine with the use of wood (timber as a material). It is just that it is necessary to sort out our thinking and attitude towards these things, and understand the possibilities – then many things will happen, and we will not encounter excessive caution. Only a very, very self-satisfied person would fail to see that a change in lifestyle and worldview is currently taking place, and we can no longer live as wastefully as we have until now! Sooner or later, we will have to think, live, and arrange our environment differently! If we say that wood is a good material and should be used more, in a way, this attitude is also a little outdated. At present, wood and timber are one of the solutions or a “lifeline” to hold onto to change our attitude towards our current lifestyle. Construction, with its pace and disregard for the surrounding environment, has developed quite far; urbanisation is unlikely to stop – rather, it will increase. People in the world have realised that we cannot continue this way anymore! We must be more considerate towards people, the environment, and urban planning and development. Wood, with its positive properties, has recently been “rediscovered”. Construction using wood can be more environmentally friendly and healthier; schools and kindergartens can be fitted out in wooden buildings. We no longer need to talk about how good wood is, but rather about how to support wood product manufacturers and the solutions for how we can use wood in the future.
The time when we walked around with wooden bow ties or wooden suitcases, in my opinion, has passed! It is necessary to shift our thoughts and actions towards construction, offering this industry sensible and scientifically sound solutions. Construction is, so to speak, “entering” woodworking companies, and sometimes an entrepreneur cannot figure out whether they should be considered a builder or a wood processor. Construction involves both processes and materials, which influence one another. For example, last year, the people of Jelgava felt distinctly how road construction works affected city life. In more densely populated places in Europe, on the other hand, people feel it quite strongly if someone nearby decides to build a house. Construction from wood, as so-called “dry construction”, can be carried out in any conditions, and what is more, a great deal can be done at the company itself. Industrially and professionally manufactured materials (pre-fabricated) allow for a reduction in both construction costs and – something society values highly – the process is much faster.
Are we talking about so-called “modular” type houses? If we remember our childhood – there were so-called “construction sets” where you could assemble a lot of things from different parts.
Exactly! The analogy with toys is correct! These are not just panel houses, but even individual rooms or parts of rooms are manufactured at the company, where a stove, fireplace, or other equipment is placed according to a specific model, which is then transported and assembled on-site. We are capable of and do produce much more than can be consumed in Latvia! Exports to Norway or Sweden are a common occurrence; our craftsmen go there with all the “raw materials”, and the building is ready in about a week!
Wooden buildings are talked about more in the Alpine region or in Scandinavia. Would these be traditions, or are there other reasons?
Both traditions and available materials. These are regions where wood is abundant. Construction conditions there are difficult because: either they are mountains or territories with large distances, where it is expensive and complicated to transport other building materials. Traditionally, in the Alps and Scandinavia (and not only there), people have built with wood, and the traditions have continued. Of course, even in Scandinavia, there have been periods when, for various reasons, the use of wood in construction was not supported. Both of these European regions are characterised by an increase in requirements for residential buildings – especially in recent times. Many solutions that were available not so long ago no longer exist. Summer houses, hunting cabins, or ski lodges in the Alps have more freedom in the market because they are not subject to the energy requirements set by Europe. Our manufacturers have a good opportunity to compete and show their skills.
In Latvia, competition and parity with the Scandinavians are usually emphasised.
We have less experience and different conditions, but we work in the same market. The Scandinavians are “faster” and have larger resources; the bureaucracy there is “more sensible” and more organised. In Latvia, not so long ago, we had to move from one building code system to another, and a fair amount of inertia was observed during the transition phase. Many builders have experience with industrial construction and Soviet standards; textbooks and manuals were created for the “old practice”, and the information found in these materials about the use of wood is often outdated, or such information was not there at all! Regulations, of course, must be sorted out, which is a large and time-consuming job that requires high professionalism: enthusiasm and political will alone will not be enough! Construction is, after all, a fairly regulated field. You cannot, for example, build multi-storey house modules in every garage or shed and rejoice: look at what we can do! Things must be properly organised! A house must be both safe and convenient to use. It is important to have examples – people want to touch and see; then it is easier to talk and convince them of a possible solution.
Recently (in the last few years), when talking about forests, they are often compared to parks or similar areas, forgetting the forest as a source of a renewable resource – wood!
I think that many people perceive the forest as something similar to a park, for example, by going there for a walk or a run... The only thing is that forest resource managers often do not listen to each other, and the person who shouts the loudest is right! Or – whoever lies first is right! Balance – people talk a lot about it, they think a lot about it, it is necessary. Without the economic use of our forest resources, it would certainly be difficult to maintain state independence! In pre-war Latvia, an agrarian reform took place, and there were times when it was important to provide the population with food; as a result of this agrarian management, forests were replaced by smallholdings. When reading documents and chronicles created a hundred or more years ago, by today's standards, more than one solution would seem naive and wrong, but back then in that situation, everything that happened was very, very correct! Such action (the agrarian reform) allowed the new state to develop! At present, having our own food industry is certainly important, but it cannot be Latvia's strategic pillar! We see that both Lithuanians and Danes are operating in our food sector, and... But the forest, which is the basic resource for arranging our future life, does not even need to be discussed! That is the truth! Our value is no longer just mast pines, but, if one may say so, also biomass! The industry has valued everything that grows! For example, growth under power lines is cleared and “finds” its place on the market! Whether it be energy or another type of use. The struggle for resources is intensifying globally – we often associate this with oil or gas, but right now, in certain areas, renewable resources, including wood, have come to the fore! The possibilities for using wood are vast! The first steps in this regard are visible when large Scandinavian concerns purchase, for large sums of money, the opportunity to use the renewable resource in 80 or 100 years' time. This is only the beginning! We must be prepared for newcomers with large amounts of money who will want to gain control over our resources! It is important that we have strong forest management and that we can maintain it for ourselves!
If we look at the forest neutrally, forest management interferes with the forest's recreational function much less than our modern “sacred cow”: environmental protection. The average citizen should be worried because the beautiful river landscapes of the past are no longer accessible. To a committed environmentalist, people in the forest are harmful! So...
Science. Is there much interest in and knowledge of your work? The word science seems to be heard a lot; doctors and masters talk about politics and general large-scale things. Do you hear much about the use and value of wood?
Probably too little! Unfortunately, people do not believe in traditional values in the current day and age. They also do not believe in scientists! New ways must be found to talk about the work of scientists. In the mid-20th century, the writer Stefan Zweig remarked: “The greatest misfortune of science is to become a matter of fashion!” We, unfortunately, have been struck by this misfortune.
Is there any basis in Latvia to distrust scientists?
At the moment, we are working hard on the regulations mentioned at the beginning of our conversation so that wood can be used in larger objects. In this work, we often encounter disbelief. For example, it is well known that wood burns! From this, without going into detail, it is concluded: where something more dangerous is expected in a building (structure), wood must not be used! But the development of wood products and forecasting methods have moved forward at a very rapid pace! In construction, the usual view is: if you do something, there must be a standard that “allows” you to do it! Technologies, however, have developed to the point where analytical methods are beginning to be used in construction: if there is no standard solution, engineers calculate or scientists experiment in laboratories, and based on the results obtained, a solution is developed for construction. Speaking of the already mentioned, widely understood combustion: the time is calculated that is sufficient for people to be able to evacuate from the building and reach a safe distance. Based on research, we can make a material that, in many people's understanding, burns well – wood – more durable and less susceptible to fire! With analytical methods, we can model a situation that is not included or described in the regulations to calculate possible scenarios – how people will evacuate and how much time it will take. After that, appropriate solutions can be proposed. That is what we are working on at the moment. Architects have designed a kindergarten, which is not allowed according to regulations; in the analytical model, we look, calculate, and study. If we know how everything can be done, we can build! We shall see how the kindergarten project fares; if it is accepted – it will be something new! The analytical method is used quite widely in Europe; by the way, the tallest wooden building in Norway was also built following that, not according to regulations! Wood loses strength under the influence of fire by changing size! The load-bearing capacity of wood is lost as a part “burns away”! The problem of strength, by the way, is more to be found in the joints, where there is metal that loses its strength in the heat!
Photographs from "Latvijas Avīze" and zemeunvalsts.lv have been used