<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Wood in general is a traditional building material in Northern Europe including Latvia and other Baltic countries, but nowadays it is used less in Latvia than in other EU countries. There are many forests in Latvia and a well-developed timber industry. Latvian society is enthusiastic about eco-materials, and qualified architects and engineers are ready to work with timber structures. However, wood is mainly used for small buildings and residential construction, but minimally in public and multi-apartment buildings. The study was carried out among architects and other stakeholders in Latvia to analyze their impact on the selection of building material. Thirty-eight interviews were conducted, questionnaire among 73 respondents carried out, and discussion in a focus group was held to find out the main reason and barriers for using wood for buildings in Latvia less than in other EU countries. During the research the main influencing factors for choosing wood constructions were identified and seven main barriers formulated. The study results were compared with the results of similar studies in other countries. Two of the seven barriers in Latvia – stereotypes and legislation – were not mentioned in other studies, nevertheless, these are the most frequently mentioned obstacles in the Latvian case.</p></abstract>

Wood in general is a traditional building material in Northern Europe including Latvia and other Baltic countries, but nowadays it is used less in Latvia than in other EU countries. There are many forests in Latvia and a well-developed timber industry. Latvian society is enthusiastic about eco-materials, and qualified architects and engineers are ready to work with timber structures. However, wood is mainly used for small buildings and residential construction, but minimally in public and multi-apartment buildings. The study was carried out among architects and other stakeholders in Latvia to analyze their impact on the selection of building material. Thirty-eight interviews were conducted, questionnaire among 73 respondents carried out, and discussion in a focus group was held to find out the main reason and barriers for using wood for buildings in Latvia less than in other EU countries. During the research the main influencing factors for choosing wood constructions were identified and seven main barriers formulated. The study results were compared with the results of similar studies in other countries. Two of the seven barriers in Latvia – stereotypes and legislation – were not mentioned in other studies, nevertheless, these are the most frequently mentioned obstacles in the Latvian case.

Barriers for Use of Wood in Architecture: The Latvian Case

Architecture and Urban Planning

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Barriers for Use of Wood in Architecture: The Latvian Case"}

Wood in general is a traditional building material in Northern Europe including Latvia and other Baltic countries, but nowadays it is used less in Latvia than...

Barriers for Use of Wood in Architecture: The Latvian Case

Published Online: Feb 10, 2018

Page range: 43 - 47

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/aup-2017-0006

Keywords
Wood, timber, building material, architecture, construction, barriers, Latvia

© 2017 Antra Viļuma et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Barriers for Use of Wood in Architecture: The Latvian Case

Published Online: Feb 10, 2018

Page range: 43 - 47

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/aup-2017-0006

KeywordsWood, timber, building material, architecture, construction, barriers, Latvia

© 2017 Antra Viļuma et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Wood, timber, building material, architecture, construction, barriers, Latvia