On June 13, representatives of the federal states and municipalities met for the first time with the construction and agriculture ministries to launch the federal timber construction initiative. This marks the start of the dialogue about knowledge transfer and exchange of experience which was announced a year ago and is part of the federal timber construction initiative.
The timber construction initiative was approved by the Federal Cabinet in June 2023. With eight fields of action, the federal government’s strategy aims at increasing both the use of wood in construction and the share of timber construction by 2030.
Now, we need determination. Even though the timber construction initiative still lacks sufficient funding, prioritized areas of action and solutions can be implemented and regulatory hurdles to timber construction can be overcome. If we want the fundamental change in construction to be successful, existing disadvantages must be eliminated, for example the exclusion of certain ways of building, special permits or special requirements for construction elements made of climate-friendly building materials. Many of the legal norms and regulations are no longer up to date.
