Evaluation of Public Buildings

Starting point

For decades, less wood is used from the Liechtenstein forest than what grows back.  The result is a very large reserve of forest, which has many functions that can only be taken advantage of in a very limited way.  The large amounts of timber in the protection forest, especially, need to be reduced because of regeneration and stability deficits.  However, increased use of the forest is only interesting when the sales volume of the timber that results from farming the forest is guaranteed.  This means nothing more than the fact that in the future, more timber from the forests in Liechtenstein must be processed. 
At their meeting on November 22nd, 2005, the government of the Principality of Liechtenstein decided to sponsor construction and interior fittings using timber for state construction as well as for the use of wood energy.   When choosing the concepts, construction methods and materials, a holistic approach should be used.  What has to be taken into account is the burden to man and the environment for the extraction of raw materials, manufacturing and production, the plant, the cleaning and maintenance as well as the case of fire and disposal.  The responsible State authorities are encouraged to call attention to the possibilities of using timber as a construction material as well as a source of power as early as possible in the project phases, variation phase, pre-project or contest and to sponsor them as mentioned above.

Project Idea

In many areas of public works, timber can be used in place of other materials.  In Liechtenstein it is often not taken into account because its uses are not known (anymore) or its capabilities are underestimated.  Often it is the targeted spread of untruths by the timber opponents, who try to weaken the facts and arguments that speak for the use of wood.  Because of this, there is still the danger that in spite of the above mentioned declaration by the government, timber will still be treated unfairly when it comes to the choice of construction materials and power sources in public buildings.  
Timber is a raw material as well as a construction material with a exceptional sustainability profile.  If the (political) decision makers had a suitable aid that they could use when choosing methods of construction, construction materials or power sources in relation to supporting sustainable development, then the number of times the decision to use timber would have to be much higher than it is today.  Especially if the use of energy for the production and transport of raw materials, the so-called “gray energy” is taken into consideration when making their decision.

A decision making aid must be developed with the support of an expert or an institution that is specialised in this area,  which would lead to sustainable planning, construction, and maintenance of buildings and facilities.  Certainly, the use of a systematic evaluation of sustainability aspects would be especially high.  Even though the concept of sustainability is used and discussed a lot, it cannot be defined clearly enough.  It often happens that a decision is judged to be sustainable when social, ecological and economic factors are weighed against each other.  Sustainable behaviour is characterised by interdisciplinary and long term thinking.  It is especially   marked by evaluating complementary and contradictory claims.  It is necessary to take the following four areas of the life cycle into account in order to find a lasting  approach :

- extraction of raw materials - production
- processing – plant construction
- plant – maintenance
- dismantling – re-utilization 
 
Exactly what this method of aid will look like in detail cannot be said at this point in the project.  Whether or not a decision making aid, or the effect and success guarantee through the use of criteria, indicators, checklists or whatever comes into being doesn’t really matter in the end.  The main thing is that the tool is easy to handle and that it is slim.  If it is not easy for a layperson to understand and use, then it hasn’t fulfilled its purpose.  Another very important point in this connection is that the tool cannot limit the diversity or creativity of solutions too much.

A meeting was recently held in Liechtenstein to discuss evaluation criteria for public buildings.  In the end, it was divided into two parts: A and B.

Part A

would be a summary of all the relevant topics and arguments.  This part should be seen as general information, but should make rough evaluation possible, as to whether it makes sense to use wood as a construction material for public buildings or not.
The requirements for part A lie in making a bold and simple representation of uses for timber in different situations and areas of construction.  Timber as a building material is compared with other building materials.  At the same time, different construction possibilities are shown to some degree.

Part B

is subdivided into important areas of construction and describes the possible uses of the local timber as a building material, in different situations, using constructive approaches.  In the documentation it is consistently established where it would be most advantageous to use timber.  The reasoning is supported by referring to research results.  (Reference points)

Existing know-how like “pro Holz Austria” (or pro Timber Austria) is used for processing.

The following construction areas should be discussed leaving room for other topics as well:

1. 1.    longevity of the material
2. 2.    facades
3. 3.    insulation
4. 4.    protection against fire
5. 5.    adding value to the region
6. 6.    operation
7. 7.    construction biology

Other topics are still possible.

The goal of part B is to have an expert evaluation using neutral statements to make the use of regional timber in buildings possible.