Main Design Considerations and Prospects of Contemporary Tall Timber Apartment Buildings: Views of Key Professionals from Finland

Abstract

As a result of increasing urbanization, the need for sustainable housing, e.g., tall (over eight-story) timber apartments, is increasing in Finland. Leveraging the experience of key Finnish professionals plays a significant role in the transition and expansion of sustainable timber housing as an essential part of the forest-based bioeconomy. This interview-based study will serve to fill a gap by examining the views of key professionals with experience in tall timber residential construction, using Finland as a case study. The 21 interviews primarily highlighted that: (1) the construction cost was the most important parameter affecting the architectural and structural design; (2) the most critical consideration influencing the overall design was reported to be the structural system selection and structural design, followed by city planning and client control; (3) key professionals assessed the building’s form and the main dimensions of the building’s mass as the most significant parameters affected by timber construction; (4) the main structural considerations that needed to be developed for tall timber housing were the bracing solutions and fittings, the structures of the intermediate floors, and load-bearing vertical/partition structures; (5) construction preconceptions, the lack of cost-competitiveness, and the lack of construction expertise/actors were considered to be major obstacles; (6) the most important parameters for the future of tall timber apartment buildings were reported to be education, timber construction marketing and public awareness, land delivery conditions, the unification of public administration, and financial support; (7) tall timber building design was reported to be a complex subject that requires close collaboration, especially between the architect, the structural designer and the wood supplier. This paper will help us to understand the boundary conditions affecting the design, the development needs in solutions, the importance of design parameters, the design parameters affected by timber construction, and the prospects, measures and obstacles to tall timber apartments from the perspectives of key Finnish professionals, thereby aiding the sound planning and development of tall timber housing projects.

The Current State of the Finnish Cottage Phenomenon: Perspectives of Experts

“…Wood is perceived as a natural and warm material that sits beautifully in the Finnish forest landscape [53][54][55][56][57]. Wooden buildings are also ecological [58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68]. Other advantages of log construction include breathability, moisture balance, allergy friendliness, and aesthetics [69].…”

Comparative Study on Life-Cycle Assessment and Carbon Footprint of Hybrid, Concrete and Timber Apartment Buildings in Finland

“…In the literature, many studies focus on the technological aspects of EWPs, their use in construction, and different building solutions [ 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 ]. Several studies address wood as a structural material in buildings from the perspectives of key professionals (e.g., [ 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 ]) and consumers or residents (e.g., [ 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 ]).…”

Wooden Additional Floor in Finland

“…Although there are numerous research studies on different construction solutions with the use of engineered timber products with related technical features (e.g., [98][99][100][101][102][103][104][105][106][107][108][109]), several studies have focused on the use of wood as a building material from the viewpoint of construction professionals (e.g., [110][111][112][113][114][115][116][117][118][119]) and consumers or users (e.g., [120][121][122]). On the other hand, to date, there has been a limited number of studies on wooden additional floor applications, especially in the housing construction industry.…”