Not so long ago, the GOOD WOOD company published an overview of the trends in modern wooden house building. Among the growing current trends noted are: large glazing areas and daylight throughout, combined with energy efficiency, which means effective insulation; moving away from conservative gable roofs to modernist gable roofs; large terraces and verandas, greenhouses and vegetable gardens; convenient versatility of premises and for 2017 - black, as the most relevant. We are discussing with the author of the review, the architect of the GOOD WOOD corporation Elena Dubovenko, these trends and the possibilities of their adaptation in Russian conditions.
Lara Kopylova, Archi.ru:
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the review you are talking about design, technology and environmental trends. I want to focus on architecture. What architectural trends are there in wooden houses? Judging by the Russian wooden prize ARCHIWOOD, the expert council of which I belong to, there are three main ones: the nostalgic style of the professor's dacha; log house, but with modern large windows; or modernist style with a flat roof. In your opinion, which of these trends is promising?
Elena Dubovenko:
- The article provides an overview of global trends in low-rise housing construction in general. All this comes to Russia with a delay, and if we are talking about what is now popular in Russia - for other countries this is no longer a trend. We are practitioners and, when we conducted the research and published the review, focused primarily on the actual implementation and popularity of the application of certain solutions. We were not interested in projects, but in built houses in which people live. Based on this knowledge, we are talking about the preferences of Russians - here a significant part is occupied by traditional houses with a gable roof, facades symmetrical with respect to the ridge. Traditional log house, either rectangular or with small bay windows. There are also modern, alternative, houses where the roofs are pitched or flat, such houses can be closer to minimalism or high-tech. In the experience of our company, people are mainly guided by traditional houses. Maybe because wood is more associated with the traditional style. Or maybe because traditional-style houses are cheaper. "Professors' dachas" are less common.
Which house is more functional, traditional or modernist? In the coming year, they promise the coldest winter in the century with a length of six months. What to do with a meter of snow every day if the roof is flat?
- The gable roof, of course, is more functional, because the snow cover comes off from it, does not accumulate. In modern architecture, there are pitched roofs, but there the slope is much shallower. Meanwhile, the designers take into account the situation in which the snow is not cleaned at all. They consider how much of it can fall out as much as possible, plus the safety factor is laid. Previously, the design load for the Moscow region was 180 kg / m². This year it has been increased to 210 kg / m² for pitched roofs and 263 kg / m² for gable roofs. Perhaps because in 2016 there was a long winter without thaws, and the snow did not melt.
In the article about trends on the GOOD WOOD website, you talk about what is in demand today by consumers: panoramic windows, an increase in the area of open terraces, the black graphite color of the outer walls, daylight in the bathroom. Give examples of your homes that have implemented these trends. Can they be ordered in addition to the house, as an option when buying a car?
- We offer our customers both classic projects, which are developed taking into account the optimal consumption of materials, and exclusive projects, in which there are no restrictions.
Panoramic glazing is implemented in a classic project
SP-265, as well as in many individual ones, such as the House in Martemyanov, the House in Zvenigorod, the House in Zavidovo and many others.
Natural light in the bathroom, dressing rooms, in the space under the stairs is present in all our houses: the fact is that you feel tired of the dark and cramped spaces of apartments, so in their own home people try to get enough space and light.
The increased area of the open terrace has also been implemented in all projects. In SP-265, SP-250, SP-300, F-274, the terraces are quite large, L-shaped, enveloping the corner of the house. On the one hand, under the eaves of the roof, there is a cozy area for placing a large table, and on the other side, the terrace stretches across the entire width of the house and literally allows you to ride a bicycle (of course, a small, three-wheeled one).
Black is a question of finishing, which each customer chooses at his own discretion, and, despite the fact that this trend is only gaining momentum, some of our customers have already "caught" it and are implementing it.
Architects have a good attitude towards modular houses, seeing in them an intelligent technological product available to a wide range of people. Do you consider modular house as a line of activity?
“There are decent people and companies on the market that make great modular homes. We all know them. They are great at it, and we have nothing to do in this niche! On the contrary, if we understand that a person has a request for a modular house, then we gladly recommend contacting professionals who have honed the technology and processes in this direction. Everyone must do their job.
We are not following the path of “accessible to a wide range of people” housing. We design and build exclusive homes for permanent residence. Customers often come to us with their architect and a ready-made project. We often turn to partner architects for fresh solutions and high architecture. I will say this: architects are capable of developing truly amazing projects, but not every builder is capable of realizing an idea. Architects develop us, builders, very much. For this we especially appreciate them!
Sometimes we develop projects ourselves. But we are, first of all, a construction company that does our best so that the customer who is building a house with us according to an individual project does not know worries and worries - he is calmly engaged in achieving his goals, does not change his usual way of life - he works, rests, and not turned into a foreman.
Is it possible to create a house from a bar or a log that would have a decent architecture and at the same time would be comparable in price to an unauthorized building? That is, to invent something like IKEA in wood for housing?
- Samostroy and IKEA are different things. You can come to IKEA and return the goods without explanation, but there is no way back with unauthorized construction. Decent architecture must be implemented at a high professional level so that it carries the name of its author for many years, and does not turn into his shame and a heavy burden of its owner. Therefore, I will answer that no! You can't build a good house cheaply. But the idea to make an IKEA house is great. Maybe modular houses reflect it in some way. To be honest, we tried to make such a "boxed product" - it didn't work out.
And now I want to ask a banal question. There is a long-standing controversy among architects about what is better to build from, from a log or from a bar. It seems that the log is close to our local traditions and has a brutal expressiveness. But the timber is more convenient and practical. At the same time, technology is advancing rapidly, and the situation could change. What do you say as a professional?
- From the standpoint of the technological process and practicality, glued laminated timber wins. For example, not the entire thickness of the material itself works for the heat saving of a house from a log, but only a narrow part, where one log is connected to another. There is more wood when compared with a bar, and the efficiency of use is low, the insulation zone is complex, it is necessary to select the diameter of the logs. The log has a large percentage of shrinkage, which requires long waiting times and technological pauses during the construction process. The fans choose the beam!
Glued laminated timber is more expensive than logs and solid timber, because it is a high-tech product with a minimum shrinkage percentage of 2% (designers presume 4%). For the production of timber, blanks are used - wooden lamellas, which are dried in chambers, after which they are planed on four sides, then glued, again undergo four-sided processing, after which a profile is formed and parts are cut, like in Lego, so that they can be easily assembled one into one. The timber, dried separately on the boards, will not warp. And ordinary timber will dry out, and the outer layers will dry first, and then the inner ones. Therefore, it will surely crack, and cold air will penetrate into the cracks. Glued laminated timber excludes this situation. Well, after assembly, you can immediately put windows, doors (taking into account the technology) into a house from glued laminated timber, install engineering systems and make decoration.
The world is moving towards energy efficient passive buildings. In Finland, log houses are legally prohibited as they do not meet energy efficiency standards. That is, they can be built, but either for seasonal residence, or with subsequent insulation outside.
What technological trends does GOOD WOOD support?
- GOOD WOOD works with laminated veneer lumber of different sections in the "glued veneer lumber - German profile" technology. We also produce houses using panel-and-beam technology: the wooden frame is assembled at the factory, insulated, the factory performs external finishing, plastering, and windows are inserted. Finished wall and floor panels, roof panels are assembled on site. This is the most efficient and fastest technology, but the Russian mentality is not yet ready for this.
How are your half-timbered houses arranged?
- Fachwerk is a massive wooden frame made of beams, it is being erected on site. First, we dry, glue, plan these beams at the factory using the same technology as wall glued beams. We take out the set cut according to the project and assemble it on site. Next comes the filling of the cells of the frame: either these are large windows, or a multilayer cake. Half-timbered technology implies any filling: with bricks, whatever … We place wooden posts and mineral insulation between the beams. Next comes the windproof membrane and fiber cement panels as an exterior finish. Externally, it is close to the historic half-timbered house: dark wooden structures and light plaster.
An important trend of our time is an energy efficient home. How do you solve the problem of energy efficiency?
- In our country, there are no standards for the energy saving of private houses. The most popular cross-sections for houses made of laminated veneer lumber are 175-200 mm. A house made of laminated veneer lumber is colder than panel-timber houses. But our customer, in spite of this, chooses glued laminated timber. We did not have any requests for wall insulation, although in Finland they are insulated. Why overpay if it's already warm? We insulate the floor, ceiling and roof with mineral wool. We do not use expanded polystyrene in the walls, because it does not breathe; in terms of heat-saving properties, 10 cm of this insulation is approximately equal to 15 cm of mineral wool. We use it in the basement, then fill it with a screed. As for soft insulation, they come in different densities and different compositions. In panel houses, we used wood fiber insulation. It is dense, holds its shape, and can be plastered over it. As for the windows, we of course use energy efficient insulating glass units. They are expensive when it comes to new developments, but quickly become available.
What additional services does your company have, and how much does a GOOD WOOD house cost?
- We build turnkey houses. Or, as it is now fashionable to say, we are building a suburban life.
The cost of classic projects can be viewed on our website gwd.ru. She is indicated for the construction of a warm circuit, which includes project development, geological work, foundation, walls, windows and doors, roof, 10 stage-by-stage inspections of the ITN with detailed photo reports; individual project manager, 50 years guarantee - all this with full control through the customer's personal account, which, by the way, we give access to also to the architects who cooperate with us. The cost of the house starts at 30,000 per square meter.
