Wood Construction
Building the Future With Wood
Ecological benefits have gained in importance also in construction applications. In addition to supporting global sustainability and circularity goals, using wood also provides a versatile, beautiful, impressive and warm material that has many positive impacts on people’s health and well-being. Users of timber buildings – such as schools, day-care facilities, offices and multi-storey residential buildings – report various benefits including pleasant acoustics, well-being, and good quality of indoor air.
Sawn timber products are made from a natural resource that sequesters carbon in production plants that have a nearly closed loop of material flow. Timber structures, interior decorations, furniture and other products made from wood store carbon throughout their life-cycle. At the end of their life-cycle, the products can still be recycled or utilised for renewable energy, for example.
Wood-based construction products can replace other materials with a higher strain on the climate. According to research, this reduces the consumption of natural resources and energy as well as emissions by several dozen per cent.
Build wisely
Wood is a renewable and ecological material that acts as a carbon sink. Using wood can both reduce CO2 emissions and replace non-renewable materials that pollute the environment.
60 %
Less emissions
Replacing concrete with timber in construction can decrease the total emissions from material production and construction by up to 60%.
More with wood
Wood continues to sequester carbon even when it has been processed into sawn timber.
Using wood for construction means building for the future, and it should therefore be increased.
Kai Merivuori, Managing Director
Finnish Sawmills Association
45 %
Faster
Installation times at worksites are reduced significantly because the surface treatment tasks, curing times or grouting of construction joints typical to concrete are eliminated.
120
Minutes
Timber retains its load-bearing capacity well in a fire and the failure times are long. Glued laminated timber does not burn through, but instead chars at a rate of less than 1 mm per minute. A timber structure can easily resist fire for up to 120 minutes.
100 %
Recyclable
Timber used for construction purposes is a recyclable material that can be repurposed for producing other types of wood products or composites. Timber can also be combusted for energy.
Wood From Finland
Wood from Finland is a national promotion program for Finnish sawn timber operated by Finnish Sawmill Association.