5 ideas to copy: Innovative ways to use wood in architecture

Wooden structures are mobile and versatile and they can be used to create cosy, uplifting and luxurious spaces. These five innovative new buildings are favourites of Antti Koulumies, Senior Vice President of UPM Timber and Forest.

1. Think outside the box – Ski station and museum in Hochgurgl Austria

“I was on ski holiday in Austria when I noticed this fantastic wooden building that combines a ski station, restaurant and a motorcycle museum. Ski stations are usually made of concrete and sheet metal without giving much thought for architecture. It was refreshing to see how ambition and thinking outside the box can result in a beautiful, multifunctional building that reflects the versatility of wood as a material.”

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2. Build temporary, reusable structures – Pikku Finlandia

“When Alvar Aalto’s classic event space Finlandia Hall in Helsinki City centre was closed for renovation in 2022, a wooden temporary event facility Pikku-Finlandia (Little-Finlandia) was built in to replace it. The building consists of modules that can be disassembled and rebuilt. When Finlandia Hall opens again, Pikku-Finlandia will be moved to another location and get a new life as a secondary high school. Wood is ideal for this kind of temporary use as it is light and doesn’t require welding or concrete casting.”

3. Improve old buildings – Tiedekulma, Helsinki University, Helsinki

“Tiedekulma (Think Corner) demonstrates you don’t need to demolish old buildings in order to build something new. Instead, you can repurpose them. This cuts CO2 emissions of the construction project, and if you choose wood as building material, even more so. The University of Helsinki built a coworking and event space by repurposing their former administrative building with timber-clad entrances and large glazed walls open towards the street. Every time I visit, I admire the calm and comfy atmosphere created by the wooden interior together with visible old concrete parts.”

4. Evoke a feeling of luxury – Hotel Jakarta, Amsterdam

”The hotel I recently checked in on my work trip doesn’t look wooden at all from the outside, but as soon as I stepped in, I realised it’s fully made of cross laminated timber. The wooden interior evokes a feeling of quality and luxury that lifted up my experience as a guest.”

5. Make it cosy – UPM social facility at Kaukas sawmill

“I’m very proud of this brand new building that incorporates a social facility and the drying kiln control room at UPM sawmill in Kaukas, Finland. It has showers, dressing rooms and a staff room for hanging out. I haven’t seen anything quite like it, and I think it is a uniquely cosy facility in an industrial context. The social facility showcases what can be done with wood. We built it in cooperation with the Finnish log construction company Honkarakenne using our own wood.”

Photo: Vesa Laitinen