Berlin’s ambition to be timber construction centre

A decision in the Berlin House of Representatives to create a Berlin-Brandenburg timber construction cluster was made on March 21.

After Baden-Württemberg, the state of Berlin approved the motion "Sustainability on the building: Berlin builds with wood".

As part of the Berlin Energy and Climate Protection Program (BEK), wood as a construction material will henceforth be used to a much greater extent and will contribute to climate protection and resource efficiency as a carbon dioxide storage system.

"Climate protection and housing are the central tasks of the future in our country,” said DeSH general manager Lars Schmidt.

"The initiatives in Berlin and Baden-Württemberg show the right path," he said.

“Without the use of the renewable raw material wood, the climate goals of the federal and state governments cannot be achieved. By using wood, CO2 emissions in the construction industry alone could be cut by 31 million tonnes a year.

“Building with wood means active climate protection that every client can do, and we're happy to continue to support Berlin's policy in spreading this message and developing a cluster," said Mr Schmidt.

Several modern multi-storey wooden buildings have already been built in Berlin.

More support is being called for, for forestry, wood craft, industry and science in the Berlin-Brandenburg area and the decision is also being viewed as a green light for woodworking companies to build additional sites and production capacity in the region.

A timber construction cluster should develop and bundle the competencies along the value chain over the long term, DeSH hopes.

DeSH is also hopeful the move could anchor use of wood nationwide.