The participants in the open lectures and discussions were the heads of Finnish bureaus that design and build a lot from wood: Helin & Co, Kirsti Sivén & Asko Takala, Konkret. On the Russian side - the chief architect of St. Petersburg Vladimir Grigoriev, the head of Studio 44 Nikita Yavein, the historian of architecture Mikhail Milchik, as well as the representative of developers - Alisa Timoshina, general director of the Gorod 22 company. The Consul General of Finland in St. Petersburg Anna Lammila said in her welcoming speech that we are living in a unique time of revival of wooden architecture, which was later confirmed by the presentations of foreign architects. But can we talk about the renaissance of wood in Russia? ***
According to Vladimir Frolov, editor-in-chief of Project Baltia magazine, unlike us, the Finns have never excluded wood from architectural practice. Today in Finland everyone builds from wood: apartment buildings, office buildings, schools, boutiques and restaurants. And this despite the fact that the state began to encourage wooden construction not so long ago, in the mid-2000s. Prior to that, there were a number of restrictions related to altitude and fire safety requirements, and, according to Asko Takala, head of the Kirsti Sivén & Asko Takala bureau, the tree was unpopular among the older generation: it was traditionally associated with poverty and lack of amenities. Today, the attitude towards wood is different: “it is a classic, exclusive material, gold in our hands, which must be used correctly”. It is cheap, environmentally friendly, very expressive and human.
Representatives of one of the oldest and largest architectural bureaus in Finland, Helin & Co, showed their large-scale projects: a modular office for Finnforest, almost entirely made of wood and the largest in its typology in Europe; the multifunctional center Metsatapiola with huge wooden columns and intricate curved structures; and the new parliament building with wooden conference rooms. In the same row, we can mention the project by Lukkaroinen Architects: a school in Pudasjärvi for 800 people, which has become the largest wooden school in the country.
Konkret has demonstrated wood work in residential buildings, interiors and small forms: it looks organic both in the hostel and in the Louis Vuitton boutique, both in the bookstore and in the bath complex. Asko Takala showed that building from wood can be really expensive, but it can be very cheap: according to his project, social housing is being built from wooden "semi-finished products". Also, the tree fits well into the natural landscape and existing buildings. Asko Takala said that in Helsinki, not only historical, but also modern buildings are being built with wooden elements, and the architects of Helin & Co showed the project of a wooden sauna on the roof of an office building, which has become so popular for negotiations that it works almost around the clock.
It is known that the Finns are also sensitive to the wooden heritage. At the meeting, they mentioned the annual and very popular Festival of Ancient Houses in the town of Loviisa, during which the hosts open their doors to everyone. The state gives only a small amount of support to those who have decided to buy and renovate an old house, and there is also a special department that advises owners in the choice of colors and materials. But the main thing is that people themselves want to take care of wooden houses with a history. In addition, Asko Takala spoke about the drawings that architects created in the post-war period for ordinary people so that they could afford to build their own wooden dwellings. These projects are often used today.
After the ode sung by the Finns to wood, the floor was given to the chief architect of St. Petersburg, Vladimir Grigoriev. He recalled that St. Petersburg wooden architecture became stone through firewalls, that the customer exchanges wood for brick most often because of the price, and the townspeople do not like to live in houses that look like wooden ones. And in general, is wood glued or soaked in chemicals so environmentally friendly? He would like to see examples of wooden architecture in the city, but not in the center, or in the form of temporary structures.
The head of Studio 44, Nikita Yavein, on the other hand, believes that Russia is used to living in a tree, and everyone here, not only architects, has the skills to work with it. A wooden house is honest and human, it is easy to make, its decorative effect is understandable. And many now want to live in a tree, although they are afraid of it. According to Nikita Yavein, even if wood comes out more expensive during construction, the difference is often leveled out after a few years due to cheaper exploitation. Contrary to popular belief, the fire-resistant performance of wood is better than that of metal: it burns longer, while metal deforms quickly. Perhaps its only weak point is its vulnerability to biological damage. However, our system of rationing is “fantastic because of the hatred of the tree,” and it is very difficult to overcome it,”summed up Nikita Yavein.
However, “Studio-44” has a lot of wooden projects: from the interior of its own office (“it was the cheapest way”) and ending with a glued dome 110 m in diameter, which was coordinated in all instances. The New Peterhof Hotel was the first commissioned object with wooden cladding in Russia. Among other projects: the Museum of Science and Technology in Tomsk, the school of judo. A. S. Rakhlina, restoration of the Yu. K. Dobert.
Since at the meeting, apart from Nikita Yavein, there were no practicing Russian architects, one might get the impression that no one else contacts the tree in the city and the region. So Vladimir Frolov mentioned the tourist complex Verkhniye Mandrogi, as well as the project of a public space for the coastal strip of the Peter and Paul Fortress, developed a few years ago by an initiative group of specialists. Also, in the new issue of the magazine "Baltia" dedicated to wood, the project of a "house by the sea" of the architectural bureau is presented "HVOYA" and objects of the festival "Drevolution" 2016, settled in the park of the Forestry University.
Mikhail Milchik rightly noted that the lack of interest in modern Russian construction in wood is reflected in the attitude to wood heritage. Only twenty-six wooden objects in St. Petersburg are under state protection, the rest is burning or destroyed naturally. According to his forecast, in ten to fifteen years this will disappear, although not so long ago there were hundreds of wooden houses.
Nikita Yavein recalled that a state program “a monument for a ruble” is being developed, according to which a historic house can be registered as property after a full cycle of restoration work. According to him, it works in Moscow, but in St. Petersburg, due to a more scrupulous approach to restoration, it does not yet.
Alisa Timoshina, whose company is building a low-rise residential complex "Pribrezhny Kvartal" in Lisy Nos, identified another problem: it is difficult to find good domestic suppliers of wooden materials, many are at the stage of bankruptcy.
The discussion ended on a positive note for the prospects for wood construction: it was recalled that recently the Ministry of Industry and Trade decided that thirty percent of all buildings that are being built at the expense of the federal budget should be made of wood. In addition, there was a rumor that in the near future the restriction on the construction of buildings made of wood no more than two stories high would be lifted.
