House made of UPM’s WISA^®-Spruce plywood by Danish architects provides a new model for sustainable building

(UPM, Lahti, 20 December 2011 at 10.30 EET) – UPM has supported a project by the Danish architects Eentileen.dk to create new alternatives for the construction of wooden houses. A wooden villa built in Denmark using UPM’s WISA-Spruce plywood sets an example of innovative new construction methods, which incorporate sustainable thinking and efficient structural engineering.

What makes the pilot project so special is the fact that Villa Asserbo is designed as a family home and it is constructed primarily of WISA-Spruce plywood. The project used new ways of working with wood. The modelling was made by computer simulation and the plywood structures needed were made with a CNC machine. The construction itself required only two persons and no large storage areas or heavy machinery were needed.

One of the design premises for Danish architects Frederik Agdrup and Nicholas Bjørndal was to reduce the environmental impact of construction. Villa Asserbo's natural environment has been preserved largely intact throughout the construction

Agdrup and Bjørndal are confident that Print a House projects could be implemented in the future in very different environments, even in disaster areas. "The idea could well turn out to be a socially significant innovation with social-economic importance and considerable international markets," concludes Ole Bjerg, Consultant of Eentileen.dk.

During the project, the architects analysed and considered the whole life cycle of the product. The carbon footprint of the villa is very small. No concrete has been used in the construction and the little waste left over from working the plywood is recycled. Energy efficiency and indoor air quality have been emphasized in the construction. ”The project opens up new opportunities to utilize WISA plywood, a sustainable raw material, in an innovative way. The whole project fits very well with UPM’s Biofore thinking with its innovativeness, sustainability and recyclable materials," says Robin Wilén, Sales Manager of UPM Plywood in for Denmark.

Agdrup and Bjørndal conducted market research on available wood products prior to selecting WISA-Spruce plywood as the raw material for the project. WISA-Spruce plywood originates from sustainably managed forests and the product is certified according to PEFC.

For further information please contact:
Mr Riku Härkönen, Portfolio Manager, UPM Plywood, tel. +358 2041 56269, riku.harkonen@upm.com  
Mr Robin Wilén, Sales Manager, UPM Plywood, Denmark, tel. +45 61 22 31 49, robin.wilen@upm.com   

Photos from the site:
https://bitly.com/wisaplywood

UPM leads the integration of bio and forest industries into a new, sustainable and innovation-driven future. Our products are made of renewable raw materials and are recyclable. UPM consists of three Business Groups: Energy and pulp, Paper, and Engineered materials. The Group employs around 24,500 people and it has production plants in 16 countries. UPM's annual sales exceed EUR 10 billion. UPM's shares are listed on the Helsinki stock exchange. UPM – The Biofore Company – www.upm.com

UPM Plywood offers high-quality WISA® plywood and veneer products mainly for construction and transport industries as well as the formable UPM Grada plywood for furniture and manufacturing industries. The sales of UPM Plywood in 2010 were EUR 347 million and it has about 2,500 employees. UPM has 6 plywood mills and a veneer mill in Finland, and plywood mills in Russia and Estonia. www.wisaplywood.com, www.upmgrada.com

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