Finalists chosen for wood building competition

Four companies have been chosen for the final round of a Finnish timber building competition.

Two German, one Danish and one Finnish company will fight it out to win the E2 Timber Development Competition organised by the city of Kouvola. The competition seeks a solution for constructing wooden residential buildings with a total floor space of about 15,000m² and up to six to eight storeys.

Competition adviser said there were two reasons why only one Finnish team made it through to the final: foreign teams had wood construction references of the highest quality and Finns lacked the design experience needed in the competition.

“It’s a good thing that foreign operators come and show us what can be done with wood,” said Markku Karjalainen, project manager at Finnish timber promotion association Puuinfo.