In Ostrava, an architectural competition Wooden House 2010 has been announced

Ostrava - The third year of the wooden house architectural competition, Wooden House 2010, was announced today in Ostrava. Architects can register not only with their designs for low-energy family homes, but a new category has also been added for already completed energy-efficient family homes built between 2007 and 2009, said Jan Řezáč, executive director of the Wood for Life Foundation and spokesperson for the event, to reporters today.
    A seven-member expert jury, mainly composed of architects, will evaluate not only the architectural and artistic aspects but also the layout and functional solutions, as well as the investment demands. Registration for the competition is possible until January 6. The results will be announced on February 25 at the Wooden Structures Fair in Prague. "The organizers of the competition aim to restore society's relationship with wood and convince it of the advantages of living in wooden structures," explained Jiří Pohloudek, president of the Moravian-Silesian Timber Cluster, about the competition's intention. He added that a total of 80 proposals were submitted in the previous year. This year's event will also include a supporting competition for children from Ostrava's art schools, who will be able to create their vision of an ideal wooden house.
    "The fundamental advantage of living in wooden buildings is energy savings and cost savings on building operation," explained Řezáč. He added that wooden houses are now competitively priced with traditional family homes. "The price has recently become fully comparable to brick structures. If three or four years ago a wooden building was about ten to fifteen percent more expensive, today it is fully comparable," noted Řezáč.
    According to statistics, wooden structures currently represent about three percent of residential construction in the Czech Republic, while in Great Britain it is about 15 percent and in Scotland 50 percent, despite the fact that the British Isles have limited sources of native wood. Even more wooden construction occurs in Europe, for example, in Finland, Norway, and Denmark, where these buildings account for 60 percent of residential construction.
    Among European countries, the Czech Republic ranks 12th in forest cover. According to experts, approximately 65 cubic meters of wood in the form of logs are used for one family home. In Czech forests, 0.6 cubic meters of wood biomass is added every second – meaning that every 108 seconds, Czech forests produce enough wood for one family house. If all family houses being built were made of wood, the forests would produce the necessary amount of material in about a month.