Scaling Timber Construction to 50% of Building Floor Area by 2050 – Linking Resource Availability, Industrial Capacity and Design Competence (Sessie in het Engels)
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Door:Edvins Grants, Lecturer at Riga Technical University and Vidzeme University, Mêza
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Datum:dinsdag 19 mei 2026
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Tijd:14:30 - 16:00
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Locatie:Podium HOUTBOUW
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Latvia, as a forest-rich country (more than half of its territory), offers a relevant case for examining the role of timber in decarbonising construction. This session explores what it would take to reach a 50% timber share in building floor area by 2050, linking available wood resources with industrial processing capacity and actual construction output.
The keynote introduces a quantitative approach to translate timber volumes (m³) into building floor area (m²), highlighting efficiency differences across building types and structural systems. It also reviews the current structure of Latvia's wood industry as a case study, identifying where the greatest opportunities lie – not in raw material availability, but in processing depth, manufacturing capacity, and design competence.
With the right investment, partnerships and product development, Latvia's timber resources hold real even more notable export potential for European renovation and construction markets, especially the Netherlands. The insights discussed are applicable to other European countries pursuing similar goals.
Format: Keynote by Mr Edvīns Grants, followed by panel discussions with a range of local and regional stakeholders.
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Sprekers/Partners
Edvins Grants
Lecturer at Riga Technical University and Vidzeme UniversityMêza