The use of wood in construction in Latvia is hampered by historical stereotypes, regulatory acts and the lack of state incentives for the fuller use of the resource in the country itself.
Such a picture is shown by the discussion on the use of wood in construction in Latvia and abroad organized by Dienas Biznesa in cooperation with Latvian forest and related industries portal Zemeunvalsts.lv. In Latvia, there are public buildings, production plants, warehouses, infrastructure buildings, which are built of wood, but there are relatively few of them, the situation is better with private houses.
We produce, but foreigners consume
“Wooden houses are produced in Latvia, but they are sold abroad, practically all over the world, because it is difficult to imagine a place where there would be no houses made in Latvia,” explains Kristaps Ceplis, executive director of the association Green House. There are companies in Latvia that are able to produce, Latvia has resources (wood) from which to produce, but the production goes abroad. “In Latvia, there are no motivating tools for building wooden buildings, and there is a strong historical influence of stereotypes regarding the fire safety of wooden buildings. People have a stereotype that wood rots, twists, burns, but if we use concrete and minerals, all problems will be solved without delving into those side effects that tend to be in all types of constructions,” explains Krists Slokenbergs, manager of a wooden building construction company. He points out that neither the state nor the municipalities have any instruments that would stimulate the construction of buildings from wood. “The good news is that the number of wooden buildings in Latvia is still growing, because myths about wood ten years ago were much more influential, at the same time the rate of growth is too slow,” says K. Slokenbergs.
