Costs and procurement for cross-laminated timber in mid-rise buildings

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to report on and analyse strategies for cost reduction, design processes and procurement models of a wooden nearly zero energy building (nZEB) in Norway. This publication is part of the dissemination activities of the EU Horizon 2020 project NERO, whose scope is to demonstrate the feasibility of cost reduction of nZEBs built in wood in the Nordic countries. Case buildings from Estonia, Finland, Norway and Sweden are studied with respect to their technological solutions, energy use and construction cost. The Norwegian building investigated in this paper is the Moholt Allmenning, a newly built student accommodation located in Moholt, Trondheim. Interviews with the building’s owner and the contractor were carried out to obtain information on the decision-making process during the procurement phase, the planning phase and the execution phase. The results show that the environmental goal and the requirement for the use of wood set out in the tender announcement were decisive driving forces for the selection of cross-laminated timber (CLT) in the final design. The results also show that the cost of using CLT in student residences is competitive when compared to using concrete and steel. Given the requirement for minimal greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from materials production in nZEBs, the use of CLT is, however, a better choice.