Wood City will be built in massive wood. The wooden multi-storey buildings of Wood City will be built using a technology based on LVL (Laminated Veneer Lumber) panels manufactured at Stora Enso’s Varkaus mill, Finland. New, innovative building solutions have allowed massive wood to enter into new construction end-uses traditionally dominated by concrete and steel.
Rapid construction without weather protection
The massive wood construction method applied in Wood City is a widely used best practice across Europe. A distinctive feature of this safe and rapid method is that the massive wood frame of the buildings can be installed without weather protection. In Finland however, it will be the first time this method is used for multi-storey, massive wood buildings.
“Building without weather protection is a very commonly used method in wood construction and is well-suited for wood being an organic and natural material. It is crucial to note that moisture handling for materials is meticulously designed for the installation process. All required actions and risk management are planned in detail in advance including the moisture handling plan approved by Helsinki City Building Control. Furthermore, automatic sensors are installed in the building for measuring moisture throughout the construction process,” says Petri Perttula, Head of Building Solutions at Stora Enso.
Rapid construction time of the primary structure is one of the major benefits of using massive wood elements. This method enables a significantly faster assembly than traditional solutions, in many cases double the speed. After the building frame is erected, the roof is sealed in only a few hours. The materials will be ventilated by fresh air running through the openings in the façade. Thus, the building sets itself naturally to the humidity it needs. The interior fitting work can commence very quickly, and the risk of exposing the structure to moisture is mitigated according to a natural process.
The installation time of the first wooden multi-storey building at Wood City is estimated to be less than one week per floor on average. The total time for erecting the LVL building frame is estimated to be less than seven weeks of continuous operation.
Wooden buildings as a competitive alternative
Wood is a reusable, renewable, sustainable and cost-competitive construction material that has scientifically proven health benefits. Wood has the lowest CO2 emissions amongst building materials and it creates a long-term carbon storage.
“The industrialised processes and innovative concepts of wood construction make wooden buildings a highly competitive and sustainable alternative. We want to raise awareness of how using wood as a construction material is a climate-smart choice and a solution to meet the needs of population growth and urbanisation. Since wood is the only fully renewable building material, it is unbeatable also from an environmental perspective,” describes Jari Suominen, Head of Wood Products from Stora Enso.
Stora Enso is a leading provider of renewable solutions in packaging, biomaterials, wooden constructions and paper on global markets. Our aim is to replace fossil based materials by innovating and developing new products and services based on wood and other renewable materials. We employ some 26 000 employees in more than 35 countries, and our sales in 2015 were EUR 10.0 billion. Stora Enso shares are listed on the Helsinki and Stockholm stock exchanges. Read more: www.storaenso.com
Stora Enso’s Wood Products Division provides versatile wood-based solutions for building and housing. Our product range covers all areas of urban construction including massive wood elements and housing modules, wood components and pellets. We also offer a variety of sawn timber goods. Our customers are mainly construction and joinery companies, merchandisers and retailers. Wood Products operates globally and has more than 20 production units in Europe.
SRV provides the best frameworks for people to live and businesses to operate. As a developer and builder of residential and business environments we boldly generate new innovations. We offer refined concepts and create new solutions in response to our customers' needs. Founded in 1987, SRV Group Plc is a publicly listed company. We have a revenue of approximately EUR 720 million and employ a thousand people. In addition to our operations in Finland, SRV is active in Russia. Read more: www.srv.fi
Wood City is an entire quarter full of new space solution thinking, unique design and urban living in Jätkäsaari, in the middle of Helsinki. Wood City is a project developed in cooperation by Stora Enso and SRV and designed by Anttinen Oiva Architects. Read more: www.woodcity.fi
