Living in a house or flat mainly made of wood or prefabricated is still a strange fact in Catalonia. But taking into account the trends seen at the Construmat salon, dedicated to construction, in a few years it will be much more common. In fact, this trend is already a more consolidated reality in other European countries.
"The salon shows a more sustainable and efficient way of building. Society demands it", comments the president of Construmat, Xavier Vilajoana. He says that another trend, the construction of prefabricated houses that are made in factories and not on the ground, as is traditionally done, helps to "incorporate young and female talent" into the sector. "Each project has a specific solution", remarks the president of Construmat, which will end tomorrow.
At the trade show for professionals, which takes place in the Gran Via area of Fira Barcelona in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, there are several companies exhibiting solutions with wood. "Our sector is experiencing an expected and logical emergency. Building with wood is not uncommon in other countries. It is more sustainable and healthier", says Salvador Ordoñez, director of World Wood Future, a company specialized in doing all kinds of work with this material.
"Wood has not come to replace other materials, but to dialogue with them", he considers. According to Ordoñez, there is now a certain contradiction: "We have wood, the necessary resources, but we do not have the industry to meet the growing demand". This is why the element is sought in other countries such as France and Finland, among others.
Sebastia is "the only Catalan company that builds with wood from the Pyrenees", explains its commercial director, Sergi Sebastia. They take care of the whole cycle: they cut, manipulate and create with this material. "We do sustainable forest management", he emphasizes. According to Sergi Sebastia, "it's not true that we don't have quality wood in Catalonia".
In other words, they are carried out in factories and not on the job site, as has been done all our lives. Then, they install. "In a factory you control everything, you don't improvise", defends Montse Pujol, managing director of PMP, a company with years of experience in this field. “ Because you buy wholesale, you get better prices. In addition, the construction is done in half the time", he adds. “We started in 2006 and until 2018 the progression was slow. From then until now, it has exploded", says Pujol, who, however, acknowledges that this method currently occupies a very small percentage of the market.
Another area that is being promoted is that of housing renovation, with an injection of 3.4 billion euros of European Next Generation funds until the year 2026. In Construmat there are sections that explain how to take advantage of this opportunity. "Now it's much easier, the constructive solutions have been adapted", assures Eva Bonet, coordinator of the technical rehabilitation office of the Technical Architecture Council of Catalonia.
