On 25 April a workshop was held in Vitoria-Gasteiz to present the results of the experiments of the European project EGURALT, funded since 2021 by the Interreg Sudoe programme. Around 40 Spanish participants, representatives of various structures related to timber construction, attended the event.

Baskegur and XERA organised this event, which brought together the Spanish EGURALT partners and professionals from the construction and wood sectors. The aim was to present the objectives and results of the project. Carlos Quindós, General Manager of VISESA – Vivienda y Suelo Euskerra S.A., co-host of the workshop, opened the workshop and the three sessions followed.

Strategic lines to promote construction with wood

Jacobo Aboal from XERA opened the first session focusing on Galician policies to promote the use of wood in construction. Then, Alberto Bayona, Managing Director of NASUVINSA, explained how the Government of Navarra is encouraging the use of wood in its housing policy to promote the construction of sustainable and passive public housing in the region. Ruben Goñi, Director General of Strategic Projects of the Government of Navarra, then highlighted the importance of including wood in construction in public investments as a way to stimulate the wood industry economy and generate employment in areas with demographic challenges.

Good practices in timber construction at height

Alex Santamaría, Head of Industrialisation, Urbanisation and Environmental Records at VISESA, opened the second session by discussing timber in industrialised construction and related public procurement processes. Then, Roberto Erviti, Founding Partner of MRM Arquitectos, presented the 39 Entremutilvas project as an example of social housing built in wood in Iruña-Pamplona. Unai Gorroño, Commercial Director of Egoin, focused his presentation on the evolution of high-rise construction with wood and strategic projects. Before moving on to the third part of the workshop, the speakers of the second session took part in a round table to exchange ideas and discuss good practices in high-rise timber construction.

Conclusions of the Eguralt project

To open the last part of the workshop, Irati Zabala, Baskegur Technician, introduced the Eguralt project, its actions and results. She was followed by Alfonso Basterra, Professor of Architectural Construction at the University of Valladolid (UVA), who presented the EGURALT Guide. This guide was developed by the Cesefor Foundation, in collaboration with the UVA and the EGURALT consortium in the Working Group nº1. Manuel Touza, Technician of XERA – CIS MADEIRA, then spoke about the constructive design and durability of CLT projects. The next two presentations focused on the results of Working Group 2. Maitane Zazu, Head of Special Projects Section in NASUVINSA, began by explaining the Navarra Social Housing and actions linked to the housing plan. After this presentation, Olatz Esparza, Manager of Ademan, presented the prefabricated slab system using wooden boards for the cores and insulation. María Azahara Soilán, Technician of XERA – CIS MADEIRA, ended this second part by talking about the Perception Survey and awareness campaign. It should be noted that the awareness campaign was developed within the framework of Working Group 3.

The participants of the third session of the workshop concluded by discussing the achievements of the Eguralt project in terms of sustainable construction with wood in a round table.