Despite the abundance of forests in the Czech Republic, only about 2 percent of newly built houses use wood as the main construction material. Five climate advocates teamed up with the Czech Green Building Council (an organisation spun out of one of last year’s Challenge Europe projects) and the recently opened and highly energy efficient National Technical Library to organise a seminar about building from wood and other natural materials.

On 20th March, the hard work paid off with over 150 people turning up to listen to six architects, academics and experts talking on the merits and shortcomings of buildings made of wood, straw or soil. The seminar was given the name ‘Bio houses’, bio being the word typically used to describe organic produce in the Czech Republic. The event was a great success. The presenters covered topics such as the impact of the construction industry on the climate, the details and intricacies of building from wood, the importance natural materials play in creating a pleasant and harmonious living environment and complete out of the box thinking about materials such as straw, mud or sea shells.

The high marks and encouragement given in the feedback forms confirmed that Challenge Europe plays an important and welcome role in spreading environmental consciousness in the Czech Republic.