rusticasa^®'s ETAs in the spotlight at Bari's CEES 2025

On the occasion of the International Conference on Construction, Energy, Environment and Sustainability (CEES 2025), held in Bari (Italy) in June 2025, rusticasa^® had the honor of being featured in the presentation Market Readiness in Timber Construction: The Role of European Technical Assessments, delivered by Eng. Rui Jerónimo. Following this presentation, the scientific publisher Springer published the full article in the collection Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering (Proceedings of CEES 2025 – Volume 1: Construction Materials and Technologies), compiling the scientific papers presented at this international conference.

Timber construction has increasingly assumed a prominent role in the construction sector, driven by its advantages in sustainability, thermal performance, mechanical strength, versatility, and aesthetic quality. This growing recognition has fostered the development of innovative timber-based construction systems. However, many of these systems are introduced to the market without comprehensive experimental evaluations, which may lead to inadequate solutions, construction pathologies, and significant risks to building safety and durability.
In this context, European Technical Assessments (ETAs) play a decisive role by providing a rigorous technical framework for characterizing and validating the performance of construction products. In addition to enabling CE marking and the free circulation of products in the European market, ETAs facilitate experimental testing and numerical analyses that assess the behavior of construction systems against the Basic Requirements for Construction Works defined in the Construction Products Regulation.
The article presents two case studies developed by Rusticasa-Construções, Lda.: a log wall system with thermal insulation (ITS – Insulated Timber System) and a light timber frame construction system (TFS – Timber Frame System). Both systems were evaluated within the ETA process, using laboratory tests and standardized calculations covering mechanical strength and stability, fire behavior, water tightness, air permeability, risk of condensation, acoustic insulation, impact resistance, and thermal performance.
The results show that the analyzed systems achieve adequate performance levels for most building applications, confirming the reliability of timber as a construction material. The study also highlights that the ETA process is a key tool for strengthening the confidence of manufacturers, designers, and developers, promoting safety, innovation, and market maturity of timber construction systems.

rusticasa^® expresses its gratitude to ITECONS and, in particular, to Eng. Rui Jerónimo and Eng. Nuno Simões, for their dedication in completing the European Technical Assessments of rusticasa^® construction systems, as well as in drafting the scientific article, which can be downloaded via the link below.

Download PDF Market Readiness in Timber Construction: The Role of European Technical Assessments