Prefabricated modules of cross-laminated timber have been “plugged in like Lego pieces” to develop this eight-storey apartment block in Finland – one particular of the initial examples of its kind in the world .
Named Puukuokka, the building was designed by Finnish studio OOPEAA for housing developer Lakea Oy. According to architect and studio founder Anssi Lassila, it is the tallest wooden apartment block in the nation and a single of the initial substantial-rise examples of prefabricated cross-laminated time (CLT) building in the planet.
“The use of prefabricated modular building elements is nothing new in itself,” he informed Dezeen. “Nonetheless, the use of CLT is new, and so is its application to multi-storey buildings of this height.”
CLT is an engineered wood formed by glueing with each other many layers of lumber at right-angles to each other, creating it considerably more powerful and a lot more rigid than typical wood. Producer Stora Enso took benefit of these properties to develop a modular building program employing only this material.
These lightweight modules supply the building’s major structural framework. Compared with typical concrete constructions, they can be set up in half the time, with far fewer delays induced by weather.
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“The notion to use this type of system came from the client,” said Lassila. “At that time, Stora Enso was establishing a method made of CLT and I acquired thrilled about the possibility to be involved in creating something that helps to produce higher-good quality architecture through mass production.”
“The prefabricated modular CLT construction helps make it possible to keep the building time on internet site to a minimum since all the modules come with entirely finished interior surfaces and they are completely ready with fittings and prepared for installation,” Lassila added.
“The time on site was only 6 months, and the carbon footprint of the wooden structure is drastically less than that of a developing manufactured of concrete.”
Fire laws had previously prohibited buildings of this height currently being constructed from wood. But a adjust in Finland’s developing code in 2010 – largely prompted by the high fire-resistance of CLT – has now manufactured it feasible to build an eight-storey block with a wooden frame, as lengthy as this load-bearing structure is coated and an automated sprinkler program is fitted.
“Wood is a quite good building materials for a lot of different kinds of buildings and I never feel that we have nevertheless observed its full possible,” said Lassila. “It has been estimated that, when realised in accordance with these rules, a wooden apartment creating is 50 instances more fire risk-free than a equivalent apartment developing created of concrete.”
The building is found in the Jyväskylä suburb of Kuokkala, and is the very first of three structures planned for the site. The other two are set to be finished in the following two years, making a total of 150 apartments.
The exterior of the creating is also wooden – larch panels clad each the front and rear of the constructing. The side dealing with the road has been painted black, while the courtyard-dealing with rear facade has been left untreated and is covered in balconies.
Within, spacious hallways run through the centre of the program and staircases are positioned in the middle. There are also total-height spaces at the ends to support the interior feel brighter and far more open.
Homes include a mix of studio flats, and one- and two-bedroom apartments. Every flat has its personal sauna and a balcony.
“The atmosphere in the developing is unique,” mentioned Lassila. “It is radically diverse from what we are employed to encountering in a normal apartment constructing. Wood as a materials is pleasantly present in the hallways as effectively as in the apartments themselves.”
Puukuokka also pilots a new financing model for homebuyers – after renting a flat for 20 many years, the occupant turns into the owner. The only necessity is a seven per cent down payment before moving in, and the rest of the cost is covered by a state-assured financial institution loan.
Undertaking credits:
Consumer: Lakea Oy
Architects: OOPEAA
Architect in charge: Anssi Lassila
Task architects: Juha Pakkala, Iida Hedberg
Team: Jussi-Pekka Vesala, Mia Salonen, Teemu Hirvilammi, Hanna-Kaarina Heikkilä, Santtu Hyvärinen
Exploded axonometric diagram 
Web site program 
Second floor program 
Fourth floor prepare Dezeen
