Rovaniemi plans more wooden buildings

Rovaniemi intends to increase the number of wooden buildings and is trying to find areas where wooden buildings dominate, the city’s architect Tarja Outila told the Daily Finland.

To a query regarding reluctance of housing companies to build wooden houses, Outila said, “Most of the private houses here are made of wood. Actually most of the family houses are wooden but log houses and CLT (cross-laminated timber) houses are rare. We do not have wooden apartment buildings at all. Pilke is the only public building which is made of wood.”

Experts said a wooden building costs 5-10 per cent more than a concrete one. The cost is more because there are few CLT factories in Finland. Transportation drives up the cost further. So, planning is a key factor here. The final price is also affected by the government support.

“Due to the higher cost of wood compared to concrete and other housing materials, wood construction is not popular among the open-market operators,” said Kirsti Saviaro, executive director of DAS (Domus Arctica -säätiö/Domus Arctica Foundation).

DAS, however, is planning to build the first wooden apartment building for students in Rovaniemi in 2018. The building will be constructed in Riihipellonpuisto between the campuses of the University of Lapland and the Lapland University of Applied Sciences.

Saviaro said, “DAS’s wooden building plan is a project larger than construction of just a wooden apartment building for students. We are co-operating with the City of Rovaniemi. We are working together on the building planning and the city eyes the Riihipellonpuisto area...We are examining the possibilities of wooden apartment building in the Arctic area.”

The immediate project of DAS consists of one building with a maximum of eight floors and 106 studios for students. “We are applying for the building permit so that it would take effect in March 2018. The estimated construction time of the building depends on which alternative is chosen, but the building would be finished in August 2018 the earliest,” Saviaro told the Daily Finland.

The Pilke Science Centre, the biggest wooden building in Finland, is the sole major wooden building in Rovaniemi. However, the wooden apartment building at Riihipellonpuisto will be the first one designed in Rovaniemi.

“For the time being, we are just making calculations for different alternatives, but if the wooden building fits in the framework of the estimated costs, we will turn it into an Arctic landmark in Rovaniemi and in the campus area. It will be an attraction for national and foreign students as well as tourists,” said Saviaro.

There would be solar panels on the roof. Circulation, sharing economies, air quality, temperature, and health issues will all be taken into consideration. The park will also have an area for a new science, art, and business zone.

“By building a house with wood, the carbon footprint will be 20 per cent lower during the construction phase and 2 per cent lower during the time the building is used, compared to a building made of concrete elements and such. Apartments are cosy and increase the living comfort due to the wooden surfaces,” Saviaro said.

Apart from that, the new student house will also have club rooms, ‘laundry room cafes’, shared bikes for tenants to borrow, etc to improve the living conditions.