Panels & Furniture Asia November/December 2022

STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
A VARIETY OF PURPOSES
Little Finland was designed by
architects Jaakko Torvinen, Havu
Järvelä, and Elli Wendelin in
collaboration with professor Pekka
Heikkinen from Aalto University,
and architecture and design firms
Architects NRT and Arkitekturum. The
structural design of Little Finlandia
was based on the possibility of
reusing the building. Once the
renovation of Finlandia Hall is
completed, Little Finlandia can be
moved to other locations and used
as temporary facilities for schools
and day care centres, or for other
renovation projects.
1
A VERSATILE AND SUSTAINABLE
CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL
Little Finlandia is an example of
Finnish wood architecture, blending
into its surroundings. It also adheres
to the principles of sustainability
and the circular economy. Wood is
a sustainable construction material,
and the use of wooden modules
enables the building to be flexibly
adapted, ensuring it a long, useful life.
“Wood stores carbon throughout
the building’s lifecycle. For example,
the Kerto LVL used in Little Finlandia
has a carbon storage of 484.5 tonnes
of CO2e,” said Lassi Moisio, sales
manager from Metsä Wood.
The renovation of Finlandia Hall is
slated to complete by the end of
2024, so Little Finlandia will serve
its current purpose at least until
then. The building can then be
used for other purposes. Moisio
explained: “To ensure the building
meets the requirements for
adaptability, transport, and reuse, it
must be constructed from durable
and premium-quality materials.
The elements, made of Kerto LVL
products, ensure a long-lived building
that withstands heavy use.”
FM-HAUS
Little Finlandia was constructed by
FM-Haus, a family-owned company
established 25 years ago in the
municipality of Jokioinen, Finland.
The company is a partner in module
and wood construction. FM-Haus
operates across Finland and has
been Metsä Wood’s partner for more
than 20 years.
The cooperation between Metsä
Wood and FM-Haus is based on
mutual trust and the wish to develop
and boost wood construction. The
partners’ joint work has focused
especially on developing the
structure of Kerto LVL RIPA slabs.
“Metsä Wood offers first-class
delivery reliability. We also have
a designated sales representative
and get personal customer service
whenever needed. We have engaged
in close cooperation with Metsä
Wood for nearly as long as our
company has existed. In recent
years, our joint development work
has mainly focused on multi-storey
construction, and we have carried out a
lot of product development for various
components,” said Juhani Sjöman,
managing director of FM-Haus.
Metsä Wood and FM-Haus share the
same goal: They aim to be sustainable
and environmentally friendly operators
in the construction value chain. The
buildings constructed by FM-Haus are
adaptable and modifiable while offering
the properties and fulfilling the criteria
of permanent buildings. FM-Haus
wants its buildings to serve people as
versatilely and for as long as possible.
Another major goal is to put a stop to
single-use construction.
Little Finlandia was constructed
from wooden volumetric modules,
prefabricated by FM-Haus at its
element factory in Jokioinen, 120km
north of Helsinki. Modular construction
had an impact on the speed of
construction compared to on-site
construction.
2
Legend
1 Little Finlandia
can host up to 800
participants
2 The on-site
construction
time was a third
of the duration
for normal
construction
3 The wooden
volumetric
modules were
prefabricated offsite
4 The volumetric
modules were
built using Metsä
Wood’s Kerto LVL
products
5 The floor and roof
structures feature
Metsä Wood’s
Kerto LVL RIPA
technology
6 Three-ply CLT
panels were used
and folded to gain
structural integrity
7 The Kerto LVL
panel
54 Panels & Furniture Asia | November / December 2022