Solid and timber construction in residential buildings / Massiv- und Holzbau bei Wohngebäuden

In the context of a comprehensive analysis of the current situation in Germany’s residential sector as regards construction costs and developments in these, the Arbeitsgemeinschaft für zeitgemäßes Bauen e.V. (ARGE) undertook a specific study to investigate the use of the main materials for building walls (using both solid and timber construction methods) in residential buildings. In order to obtain comparable data, two buildings typical of the residential sector were modelled: an apartment block and a detached house. These reflect the current building situation in Germany.
It should be noted that for both multi-storey buildings and detached homes, if we look at the median cost, it is more economical to use masonry for the basic structure than timber. The cost advantage of the solid construction method over the timber method for detached houses is 4 %, and the median advantage for apartment blocks is between 4.7 and 6 %.
The studies we used in our assessment of the sustainability of the building materials used (for example from TU Darmstadt) conclude that both construction methods (solid and timber) are comparable in terms of the ‘ecological balance sheet’ results achieved over their entire life cycles and occupancy phases.