Precast concrete supplier Consolis Parma, house-builder Arkta Rakennus and timber specialist Metsä Wood aim to create a material-efficient and low-emission hybrid system combining the best features of wood and concrete.
The project will look at both building frames and façade systems capable of delivering residential buildings that are low-carbon, energy-saving, durable and cost-effective.
The structural systems developed during the research project will be tested in an apartment building project in Finland.
According to Metsä Wood director Jussi Björman, hybrid construction can increase the proportion of renewable material in multi-storey buildings without compromising the efficiency of the building process or the performance of the structure.
Metsä Wood’s Kerto laminated veneer lumber (LVL) is well-suited to hybrid systems and is “lightweight, material-efficient and carbon-storing,” said Björman.
Juha Rämö, technology director at Consolis Parma, said: "Radically cutting the climate impact is a common concern for the entire construction industry. In line with our strategy, we have put climate issues at the centre of our development work and our goal is to reduce our emissions by 5% annually and halve them by 2035."
"In terms of the climate impacts of the built environment, the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy means that the influence of the actual construction phase in the building's life cycle emissions will increase. As a result, structural solutions and the material choices in construction will play an increasingly crucial role in reducing the climate impact of the construction phase in the future," said Rämö.
He added: "We have launched a whole product family of low-emission concrete products that can significantly reduce material-based emissions from construction. In this research project, we are looking for new ways to reduce even more material emissions by utilising new hybrid structures and the best properties of different materials."
Marko Nikander, technical director at Arkta Rakennus, commented: "We are an expert in both concrete and wood construction and we know very well how these two different building materials behave. By utilising this know-how, our goal is to together develop solutions that combine the best properties of wood and concrete with the new hybrid construction system.
"We act as an expert of the construction site and installation process. We want to ensure the development of functional hybrid solutions using the best expertise of the project parties.
"The end goal of the research project is to produce cost-effective and easily replicable low-carbon hybrid element structures that create a brand new way of building both in Finland and around the world," added Nikander.
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