Wood City in Helsinki’s Jätkäsaari harbour district is billed as a breakthrough in urban timber construction.
It is a complete city quarter, the biggest development of its kind in Finland, and, when complete in 2016, will comprise a mix of residential buildings and offices, and a hotel.
The designer is Anttinen Oiva Arkkitehdit and the project is being delivered jointly by Stora Enso and construction company SRV.
The structures will comprise Stora Enso cross-laminated timber (CLT)-based modular systems, claimed to save up to 70% on build time compared to conventional approaches.
"Wood City finally returns timber in a major way to urban architecture in Helsinki," said Matti Mikkola, head of building solutions in Stora Enso’s Building and Living division. "To get a real foothold in Finnish urban development, wood construction must be based on readily reproduceable and industrial construction concepts. This is what Wood City is all about; it makes timber building a genuine alternative for city centres – a cost-competitive, fast, safe solution, that residents like and that has great environmental credentials.
"Approximately 10,000m³ of CLT will be used, with each cubic metre holding a tonne of CO2, making the quarter a very significant carbon sink. And with prefabrication, there’s also little waste generated on site."
The development, he added, will include a communal ‘lobby area’, where residents and people who work there will mingle, its undulating CLT-constructed ceiling reflecting Wood City’s waterfront setting. The office spaces’ flexible layout is also designed for customisation.
