Metsä Wood, a manufacturer and seller of quality timber, plywood, laminated veneer lumber, and other products sourced from sustainable northern forests and headquartered in Finland, has launched its Open Source Wood initiative in an effort to share the knowledge regarding the use of timber as a key element in modular construction. This initiative would help to further the growth of modular construction for fast, sustainable house building, according to reports.
The company believes more could be done to educate those in the building industry about innovations in wood construction and how using prefabricated wood elements in offsite construction results in environmentally sound, efficient design, without sacrificing quality. Esa Kaikkonen, Executive VP at Metsä Wood, said that wood construction remains niche due to the fact that insufficient knowledge regarding modular wood design and building is shared. Kaikkonen said, while there is ample innovation, it’s hard to find. Because of this, Metsä Wood launched the initiative at www.opensourcewood.com. Open Source Wood, or “plan B,” is an open ideas platform developed to promote modular wood construction.
Reports on the advantages of modular offsite construction using prefabricated wood components indicate that, of companies studied who apply lean construction methods, 80% enjoyed greater satisfaction among their customers, while 84% reported increased construction quality. Other benefits include reduced project budgets, shorter building schedules and the reduction of waste that occurs when homes are built on-site; waste that has to be transported once the project is completed.
Metsä Wood believes that, in many cases, housing shortages could be resolved through innovation such as off-site construction, using timber products such as the company’s Kerto Laminated Veneer Lumber and other engineered wood products, making it possible to build quality homes in just weeks rather than the months it often takes to build a home on-site.
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