Architect Jaakko Torvinen: All I see in wood is opportunities

Daniela Walker

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Sanna Lehto

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Jaakko Torvinen is an architect specialising in wood construction. He believes that buildings of the future should be made to be disassembled and reused in different ways. This is what he’s learned about sustainable construction.

Lesson 1: For the future of construction look to the past

“My interest in wood architecture and construction started during my Masters’ studies. I entered a competition where the aim was to design a temporary wooden building for Alvar Aalto’s classic event venue Finlandia Hall in central Helsinki. My team’s design, Pikku-Finlandia (Little Finlandia in English) ended up winning, and is now being used as a temporary venue next to Finlandia Hall.

To me, it represents what sustainable architecture should be: it uses natural pine trees as load-bearing columns and is made from different types of wood products throughout. We also used engineered wood products, but only where their technical properties are essential. The building can be disassembled and reused because it is made from modules.

Wood is an ancient material, and we can learn a lot from history in terms of how it has been used in construction. Take log houses for example, they were often built and then taken down and built somewhere else. Pikku-Finlandia is like those log houses, it's not only for short-term or one-time use. When it's not needed anymore at Töölö Bay Park, it will be disassembled, moved and built again, transformed to a new use.”

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Lesson 2: Wood has endless benefits

“The Pikku-Finlandia project really sparked my interest in wood as a construction material. I like how it looks, how it feels when you touch it but also how easy it is to craft. I don’t see any reason why we can’t replace steel or concrete in construction with wood. It takes a lot of energy to create both steel and concrete, and their carbon footprint is huge. Meanwhile, wood is renewable, sustainable and has a long lifespan when used correctly.

Wood is excellent because it acts as carbon storage. When a tree grows it intakes carbon, and the carbon remains within the timber for the lifetime of the building. And while we cut forests, new trees will grow, and they will start to store more carbon from the atmosphere.

In Finland, a tree grows approximately 60 to 80 years before it is felled. We should use it in a building for at least the same amount of time while another one grows.”

Lesson 3: Sustainability is more than carbon footprint

“We demolish too many buildings. In Finland, the approximate lifespan of public, office and commercial buildings is less than 40 years – and that is not sustainable by any means.

I think we must look at it from three angles: first, I would keep all the buildings we already have and modify them if they are no longer fit for their current use. I think the main reason for demolishing buildings is that it is too expensive to adapt the space for a new use or the building is in the wrong place.

Secondly, instead of demolishing, we should disassemble buildings in a way that we can reuse their elements and materials in new construction.

And lastly, if we must build new buildings, they should be built from wood and other natural materials. If we need to build from the ground up, then we should use a material that has a good impact on the environment.

Sustainability is not only about global warming and the carbon footprint of material. It’s about how we impact the whole environment. This means that to be sustainable, we need to ensure we are not only using renewable materials but that we use them in ways that keep the planetary boundaries, a balance of ecosystems, intact.”

Lesson 4: Changing perceptions of wood will make the difference

“There are still some challenges when using wood in construction, but it is mostly around perceptions. There are still some misbeliefs, such as we can’t build high rises from wood because of fire or that it is not as good a building material as steel and concrete. Luckily, we are starting to see attitudes change and wooden buildings are getting higher and higher.

The whole construction sector is super important in making the world more sustainable. It’s rare that one sector can have such a large impact. This means that, as architects, we should take a larger role and be the first drivers of change through how we design buildings.

With wood, I don’t see any unsolvable challenges. I just see opportunities and that’s the beauty of the material.”

Jaakko Torvinen came to architecture later in life, starting his career as a real estate agent. He turned to architecture because he wanted to pursue a creative profession that could have a positive impact on the world.
He is currently pursuing a PhD at Aalto University, where he is focused on wood construction and architecture.
During his Masters’ degree studies, his team of students won a competition to create a temporary events venue in Helsinki while the city’s Finlandia Hall is closed for refurbishment. Their winning entry, Pikku-Finlandia, is made entirely from wood and is designed to be disassembled and used elsewhere once Finlandia Hall reopens.

Author

Daniela Walker

Text | Daniela Walker is a writer, editor and trend forecaster, whose work helps brands understand the major societal and cultural shifts that are impacting our collective futures. She has worked with companies such as Nike, Bacardi, Dell and the BBC and her writing has appeared in Wired magazine, Frame magazine and Monocle amongst others.

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Sanna Lehto

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