It is hard to imagine that only a few centuries ago, the great metropolises of the world were built largely of wood. The fires that ravaged major cities like London and Chicago, how-ever, ultimately led to fire regulations that lim-ited timber construction to a height of about two storeys. That was changed some years ago, when restrictions relating to timber buildings were eased internationally. Wood has much in its favour, from its positive CO2 balance to the rapid form of construction that is possible with this material. The City of Wood programme in Sweden supports the development of whole estates in timber. Nevertheless, many other factors have to be taken into account, like fire and moisture protection, sound insulation and structural aspects. A lot of multi-storey developments described as “timber buildings” are, in fact, in a hybrid form of construction, in which lift and staircase shafts, basement storeys and even the ground floor may be in concrete.