1st Regional Meetings of the Wood and Straw sectors, December 12, 2019 at the Dewailly Amiens space

FIBOIS, interprofessional of the Hauts-de-France forest-wood sector, develops, coordinates and structures the regional wood forest sector. The two partner structures are co-organizing, on December 12 in Amiens, the 1st Meetings of the Wood and Straw sectors which will bring together project owners, communities, companies, architects, design offices, laboratories, farmers, professional federations, representatives of the territories. 150 participants are expected to share the advances in straw and wood construction, to meet this growing sector and discover exemplary projects in Haut-de-France and nationally.

Objectives of this meeting: demonstrate the potential and performance of these constructive solutions, convince decision-makers, educate project managers, multiply projects!

Paille et Bois, a virtuous association for sustainable building

In recent years, the use of eco-materials has been developing and gaining momentum. The new RE 2020 regulations which will come into force should accelerate this development. Professionals and clients must prepare for it now. Wood and straw are identified as efficient responses and solutions for the future for the regions, especially in Hauts-de-France where resources are abundant and know-how is booming.

These bio-based materials are complementary and, used in combination, they reveal great qualities for new construction as for renovation. Abandoned for many years in favor of concrete and brick, they return to the front of the stage for their mechanical and environmental qualities largely meeting the criteria imposed by the new standards. They combine sustainability, carbon performance and energy performance. They obtain excellent results on the questions in particular of management of water vapor and inertia. Finally, they offer thermal comfort acclaimed by users and perfect fire resistance.

Some decision-makers have understood this. Building owners are becoming more and more interested in it, including for public buildings and industrial buildings. This is demonstrated by the projects to be presented on December 12 and those cited at the end of the press release.

The CD2E and FIBOIS, supported by the Hauts-de-France Region and the ADEME, support this dynamic of massification. This involves a role of:

• coordination of all actors in the value chain,
• information, promotion and awareness of project owners as well as project managers,
• tools and training for professionals in the sector
• R&D for the implementation of industrializable solutions and the emergence of an efficient and virtuous economic model.
  

A 1st edition, the logical outcome of a long-standing partnership

Since 2015, the CD2E has been organizing Regional Straw Building Meetings, dedicated to building professionals. Similarly, the Hauts-de-France interprofessional of the forest-wood sector, FIBOIS, brings together each year the players in the wood construction sector and intervenes regularly in the straw construction market. In this context and with the strength of their respective networks, the CD2E and FIBOIS have decided to organize a joint event to promote the development of the wood and straw construction industry.

Discovery of emblematic achievements and concrete feedback will allow us to better understand the specificities and advantages of this type of construction, to understand how to integrate them into a project, based in particular on the Professional Rules defined by the French Construction Network. Straw. Insights will be provided on the essential question of the cost of these materials in construction, key information both for communities and for builders who need to be able to sign a cost most adjusted upstream.

Participants will be able to measure the challenges of prefabrication for both professionals and project owners. Indeed, wooden boxes in which the straw is inserted are prefabricated in the workshop, sheltered from the weather, while the site advances in parallel. This saves time and makes it possible to build larger buildings.

The crucial subject of good coordination of supply and demand actors will be addressed. Indeed, for the project planning to coincide with the seasonality of straw and wood production, so that the supply corresponds to the constraints of the site, so that the bales of straw are adapted to the constructive solutions imagined, it is necessary to be able to put “In music” all the actors in the chain from the wheat field or the forest to the construction site! This is what the CD2E and FIBOIS are working on with the aim of further optimizing and systematizing these processes.

The detailed program and partners for the event can be found in the attached press release.

The Straw Accelerator CD2E

The bio-sourced materials supply chains are at uneven stages of development. The CD2E identifies that of straw as a priority for new construction due in particular to the low cost and the abundance of raw materials. In addition, the professional rules defined by the French Straw Construction Network (RFCP) and the associated training framework provide a regulatory framework favorable to the development and structuring of this sector and facilitates implementation by construction experts. wood in particular.

The CD2E, regional referent of the RFCP, dispenses in the region (as do the Compagnons du Devoir) the Pro Straw training which is based on this reference and deals with the Professional Rules of Straw Construction (CP2012). Thus, the CD2E trained 42 professionals from Hauts-de-France, to which are added 17 people trained by the Compagnons du Devoir, placing the Region in 1st position for the number of trained and insurable professionals. This number will soon increase to a total of 70 if we integrate the staff of the training in progress now. At the national level, the CD2E and the Compagnons du Devoir trained 113 professionals in total.

In addition to its actions, the CD2E has made it possible to put online a platform dedicated to straw construction: Hautdefrance.constructionpaille.fr. He carries out an inventory on straw projects in Hauts-de-France and a directory of professionals in the sector. The objective is to achieve a comprehensive observatory that is taken in hand and regularly supplemented by the professionals themselves so that the entire chain of actors has access to useful data.

Wood and Straw, abundant resources in short circuits

The question of supply constitutes a central lever for massification. The potential is great since only 10% of the wheat straw produced annually in France would be enough to insulate all new constructions each year. Another convincing argument, this resource is available in short circuits: 90% of supplies come from a perimeter less than 50 km from the place of construction. For farmers, this is an advantageous additional income potential provided that they are trained in the specifics of straw bales dedicated to construction, different from those intended for fodder. 11 farmers from Hauts-de-France benefited from this training, they were able to sign, thanks to the CD2E, the regional charter and officially become suppliers of straw for construction, in connection with the Chambers of Agriculture in Hauts-de-France .

The Hauts-de-France forests also offer great potential for supplying short circuits. The Region supports the relocation of this industry which suffers from strong competition from Germany and Scandinavia. A Regional Pole of Excellence in Wood, a sector contract and a Master Plan, coordinated by Fibois, have been put in place.

The objective is in particular to develop and organize the regional construction timber sector by offering operators of hardwood species (oak, beech, ash, poplar, etc.), widely present in the territory, the possibility of diversifying their activity , hitherto mainly focused on food packaging and the plywood market. As such, a structuring process is underway between the poplar structure players, in order to secure the production and supply of construction and rehabilitation sites using this essence, via the creation of a company dedicated to these products. Once in place, this tool will be adaptable to other regional species.