Wooden properties in Italy: wooden and prefabricated houses are Italy's eco-friendly future

A new report entitled the "Wooden Houses and Buildings Report" (Rapporto Case ed Edifici in legno) produced by Assolegno (the Association of Woodworking and Construction Industries in Italy) has released new data showing that wooden properties in Italy, as well as prefabricated wooden houses, are on the rise. The performance of the wood construction sector in 2019 showed a 2.3% increase in production, reaching a total of 1.35 billion euros, demonstrating that wooden properties could be part Italy's eco-friendly future.

A total of 3,300 wooden units were built in Italy in 2019, with the share of building permits reaching 7%. There has also been a growth in internationalisation, with 20% of exports reaching 60 million euros. This recent report from Assolegno is based on the processing of data provided by the main players in the sector and shows a progressive growth of the industrial sector represented by Assolegno, an association that promotes the wood construction typology in Italy, highlighting its peculiarities and cooperating with all the relevant bodies, both national and European, including research centres, institutions and universities.

As far as geographical distribution is concerned, it is northern Italy, including Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia Romagna, that concentrates the largest number of buildings with wooden structures, but the data clearly show that the market is also beginning to develop in large areas of central Italy, starting with Tuscany, Lazio and Marche, and even reaching southern regions such as Puglia and Sicily.

"In recent years," explains Angelo Luigi Marchetti, president of Assolegno, "the timber construction sector has grown, and not only in terms of the market, but it has also been able to establish a close relationship with architects, offering them essential technical support in order to offer the client, whether public or private, the best possible solution. This partnership is bearing excellent fruit and we are certain that it will prove to be a winner, if we also consider how Europe is proving to be oriented towards increasingly sustainable building".

FederlegnoArredo, an industrial association that brings together all companies working with wood as a raw material, also made comment on the growing trend of wooden homes in Italy which have numerous advantages. The FederlegnoArredo chairman Claudio Feltrin stated that "the growing interest in environmental sustainability issues and the resources made available for green investments are the drivers that, more than others, are influencing the positive development of wood-based green building in Italy. All the industrial sectors we represent will have our support so that sustainable production is the hallmark of our supply chain. In this sense, wooden buildings are one of the examples we are most proud of."

Therefore, if you are planning on moving to Italy, and are looking for an alternative to a normal house built with bricks and mortar, wooden houses could be the perfect option, with their many advantages and sustainability benefits.