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Building faster, higher and greener with modular wood elements

Finnish wood product manufacturer Metsä Wood awarded Estonian start-up Team 99 for the design of the most innovative 2D element that can be used in the construction of buildings to reduce their carbon footprint.

Wood is a carbon-storing, renewable and strong construction material, yet it is not that widely used in global construction.

Metsä Wood is the initiator behind Open Source Wood, which is an inspirational open platform to share knowledge and innovation in the field of (modular) wood construction. On the platform, architects and engineers can share their ideas and designs, have them evaluated by other professionals and receive support to develop their ideas further.

According to the platform, there is not enough knowledge about modular wood design and building shared, so wood construction remains a limited sector of the construction industry. The platform aims to change this, by spreading information that is freely available.

The award was part of an Open Source Wood ‘Hackaton’, hosted by the Academy of Art and Garage 48 in Tallinn. The Hackaton events aim to develop sustainable and efficient wood construction solutions.

Metsä Wood challenged the 100 participants to design a single 2D element or module using their material Kerto LVL, which is laminated veneer wood. All participants uploaded their designs onto the Open Source Wood platform.

The winning team, Team 99, designed a system to offer a modern method for wood work, combining traditional carpentry with the use of CNC machines and smart wood solutions like Kerto LVL. The universal full-shell module is scalable to fulfil the needs of building units from cabins to high-rise buildings. Because the unit is made from a single material, it is easy to recycle at the end of life.

Photos: Open Source Wood / Metsä Wood

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