Timber construction is certainly on the rise in Sweden. But the increase could be even greater. And it's not just conservative material preferences standing in the way – Swedish bureaucracy is also acting as a brake on development.
This was something architectural practice Kjellander Sjöberg experienced first-hand when working on the Tile House multi-family housing project in Stockholm. Thanks to committed and ambitious clients, Fokus Nordic and Invesco, there was a shared goal to build in timber. However, this proved to be a significant challenge, primarily due to the building's planned total height. It risked exceeding the maximum height permitted by the detailed development plan.
Additionally, the building was to be constructed on an existing parking deck, which in turn rested on a tunnel system. This meant the structure had to be as light as possible, which initially led to the choice of a post-and-beam system in glued laminated timber.
However, several technical problems arose during the project. To achieve sufficient load capacity, floor slabs of over 500 millimetres per storey were required. But thicker timber structures meant the building's ceiling height became too low. Higher ceiling heights in turn meant an entire floor had to be scrapped, otherwise the detailed plan's height requirements couldn't be met.
A hybrid system as solution
As a solution to the problems, a hybrid system was considered, with concrete floor slabs and party walls in CLT. But then fire protection required extensive cladding with plasterboard. This reduced the efficiency of usable space and counteracted the desired feeling of the genuine material – that the house should breathe and smell of timber.
“The hybrid solution also required so much concrete and plaster that the life-cycle assessment ultimately showed the climate benefit of building with timber in this case would be marginal,” says Monika Jachimowska.
The result was that Kjellander Sjöberg was simply forced to replace the timber frame with a traditional system of steel columns and concrete floor slabs, combined with ceramic cladding.
Slow transformation
“In our current projects in Stockholm, Uppsala and London, for example, I see increased timber construction – but the transformation is still happening too slowly. However, it's very positive that more detailed development plans now enable timber construction, and that both authorities and developers show a genuine will to reduce climate impact,” says Monika Jachimowska.
According to Ola Kjellander, the slowness is not just due to a lack of updated building regulations. The actual process among decision-makers also plays a part.
“They don't talk enough to each other. This leads to extra legwork for us architects, and thus increases the risk of losing the plan's intentions among the regulatory details. First we have to anchor our idea with the planning architect, then with the head of building control and the city architect, and once again with the building permits architect. The planning department's own architects need to have the same values as the development side to create an opportunity for flexible detailed plans for timber frames.”
New building regulations
On 1 July 2025, new building regulations came into force in Sweden, which include relaxations for building in timber. Focus shifts from how something is built to what the building must achieve, allowing certain departures from detailed rules in favour of function. At the same time, documentation requirements are increasing. As a developer, you must be able to prove that the building is safe, durable and meets all requirements.
Monika Jachimowska and Ola Kjellander agree that the new statutory instruments will facilitate timber construction, and that more detailed plans are opening up for timber construction, but they also believe it's not enough.
“An effective way to promote timber construction would be to introduce binding limit values for buildings' life-cycle CO₂ emissions, as they do in Denmark, rather than just requiring a climate declaration as we do today,” says Monika Jachimowska.
She believes such a regulatory framework would need to include the entire life-cycle perspective – from material extraction and production to operation and demolition – and thereby create clear incentives for choosing materials and construction methods with lower climate impact.
“It's crucial for us as designers, advisors and system coordinators to drive solutions with timber construction. We need to focus on explaining that besides sustainability and production advantages, it's also about material experience and architectural quality, and that this too has bearing on the revenue side.”
Ola Kjellander agrees.
“The rapid material development highlights the problems our regulations and planning processes have. The new regulations facilitate today's timber construction, but how do we avoid the new rules hindering the next technological step? The solution perhaps lies not in further regulation but instead in better values-based dialogue between all parties in the planning and building process.”
Text: Mattias Boström Photo: Kjellander Sjöberg
