Revolutionary construction on the Karst Plateau
The project involved upgrading an existing massive ground-floor building. The new multi-apartment building made of wood will offer as many as 16 apartments across three floors, with its construction completed in record time. At Jelovica Homes, such projects help us fulfill our commitment to sustainability, while also setting new standards for future investments in the Slovenian construction sector.
Multi-apartment building erected in less than a month
In April 2024, Jelovica Homes signed a contract with the investor Gradbena oskrba for the construction of the first multi-apartment building using frame-panel construction in Slovenia. After quickly obtaining the permits, production started in August and construction in September. The building was completed in less than a month, which clearly demonstrates the advantages of wooden construction.
One of the main advantages of pre-designed wooden construction is the high degree of prefabrication. Unlike traditional construction, which predominantly takes place on the construction site, most elements of prefabricated construction are made in a factory equipped with the latest production technologies. This makes us less dependent on weather conditions on one hand, and provides complete control over the manufacturing of individual elements on the other, which contributes to a precise, fast and high-quality execution on site.
The project combined the innovative use of various wooden construction systems, such as the frame-panel system, solid panel CLT system and nailed roof trusses, with the frame-panel system being the predominating one. This combination of construction solutions ensures stability and strength, while also allowing for faster construction.
High seismic safety and opportunity for upgrading upgrade existing facilities
The multi-apartment building in Sežana is designed with a wooden frame-panel structure, which reduces the impact on the existing massive ground floor structure. This particular feature allowed us to upgrade the existing building with as many as three new floors. Additionally, the wooden structure does not lead to large static loads because it is associated with lower inertia forces than traditional construction, resulting in lower seismic loads and increased building safety.
The investor also decided on wooden construction because only minimal dry assembly steel reinforcements were needed for the upgrade of the existing massive ground floor. If the investor had opted for traditional construction, the cost of reinforcements would have been significantly higher and the upgrade would have been limited to only two additional floors.
Low energy costs and high quality of living
Using wood as the main building material ensures the highest comfort of living. This is because wood provides high thermal insulation, regulates indoor humidity, improves air qualit, and creates a pleasant and healthy living environment. Residents in new apartments will benefit from the natural warmth of wood, which increases the feeling of homeliness and has a positive effect on health.
The nearly zero-energy design means low operating costs – energy consumption will be less than 15 kWh per square meter of living space, which ensures minimal monthly costs for heating and cooling.
However, appropriate indoor temperature and humidity and low monthly costs are not the only things that contribute to comfortable living. Therefore, our buildings incorporate top-notch sound insulation in all walls, especially the floor slabs, external walls and walls between individual apartments. This ensures a high degree of privacy for all future residents.
Solving housing issues in a timely and cost-effective manner
Slovenians are facing severe housing issues as demand greatly exceeds supply. Although the construction of new residential buildings has significantly increased in recent years, progress remains too slow.
By constructing wooden multi-apartment buildings, Jelovica Homes is opening up new possibilities for addressing housing issues. Construction with wood allows for rapid erection and flexibility in design, which is crucial for modern needs in urban environments. Additionally, wooden structures enable construction in areas where traditional building would be more demanding in terms of statics, which is the reason wooden construction is often the only solution for upgrading existing buildings.
Jelovica Homes: Construction partner for sustainable development
In today’s times, prudent use of natural resources and sustainable production are increasingly important, which is why we consider them as priorities. We are pioneers in the field of sustainable construction as we obtain all the energy for production from renewable sources in our energy self-sufficient factory. The wood we use in construction is also sourced from sustainably managed forests, which we have proved by means of PEFC certification.
We are therefore convinced that wooden construction is the right choice on the path to a sustainable future. In addition to every advantage listed in the article, wood has another key advantage over other building materials – it stores carbon that would otherwise accumulate in our atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide. By erecting the first multi-apartment building with a frame-panel structure, we are setting a new milestone in Slovenian construction and proving that modern challenges can be solved with innovative solutions.