Architects land in Turku to innovate wooden construction in Latin America
A delegation of around fifteen architects, builders, and academics from Chile and Peru arrived in Turku, the former capital of Finland, to deeply explore new techniques, applications, methodologies, and good practices related to wooden construction.
Wood. A noble and vital element of nature that for thousands of years has been part of our residential constructions. Today, in the midst of the 21st century, it regains relevance after being replaced by concrete and steel, due to its low emissions, energy efficiency, among other benefits.
Finland is a country recognized for its vast expanse of green areas, particularly its forests, which are the raw material for over 85% of the country's single-family homes.
In light of this, a delegation of around fifteen architects, builders and academics from Chile and Peru arrived in Turku, the former capital of the Nordic nation, as part of their tour in Stockholm and Finland between May 11th and 17th. Their goal is to create collaborative networks and technical exchanges with key actors in the Nordic timber ecosystem, in areas such as industrial construction, architectural innovation, regulations, certification processes, and circular economy.
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The visit organized by the consultant Nina Fu, had the presence of authorities from the city of Turku, such as u2060Timo Hintsanen, Urban Planning Director of the City of Turku who explained the actions they are developing to become a carbon-neutral city before 2029- the year the city turns 800 years old, and where wood plays a key role; Kalle Euro, Executive Director of the Finnish Association of Architects and Mika Rajala, Director of programs of the City of Turku and Elias Mäkelä, Project Development Manager at NCC.
KNOW SUCCESSFUL EXPERIENCES AND LEARN FROM MISTAKES
On this second immersion tour, the chileans were present: Fernando Flores, Manager of Architecture and Sustainability at Territoria; Christian Cancino Ayraya, Manager of the Wood City Consortium at Territoria; Anita Jara and Tomás Prado, academics from the Faculty of Architecture, Art and Design at the University of San Sebastián in Concepción. And the Peruvian architects Marc Samaniego De Rycker, Director, BASE Architecture and Cristian Palino Carbonel, Manager Arq Pe.
The main objective of the meetings and networking actions during this immersive tour is to generate collaboration and technical exchange networks with key players in the Nordic timber ecosystem, in areas such as industrialized construction, architectural innovation, and urban planning, using wood as a basic element.
Niina Fu, tour organizer, explained that "The most crucial thing is to show our experiences, the successful things and also the not so successful ones, so that Chileans and Latin Americans can learn from our experience too, from the mistakes and get to know the people from the investment sector, the architectural perspective and also from the construction field."
In this regard, Fernando Flores, Manager of Architecture and Sustainability at Territoria, maintained that, "one of the things I value the most is the passion and conviction of everyone who is involved in the wood construction industry in Sweden and Finland -which we have seen- despite greater regulatory complexities and indeed a higher construction cost, but on the other hand, there is a benefit of building more quickly."
For his part, Cristian Palomino Carbonel, Manager of Arq Pe, argued that "Innovation is the key to growth in a country and part of the constructive exercise that we constantly have to see the issue of sustainability. A vision like this gives us a preview of what is coming in South America. What happens here, will happen there in the coming years."
WOOD CITY LINNANFÄLTTI: A PROJECT BORN FROM THE ACADEMY
One of the places visited by the delegation was Wood City Linnanfältti, a residential neighborhood developed by the company NCC, one of the largest Nordic construction companies and which is a pilot project at a national level within the promotion program of wood construction (2004-2010) approved by the Finnish government.
The project began in 2004 when the announcement of the pilot program was made, which was developed under the idea of 3 theses from graduates of the architecture schools in Turku, a demonstration of the joint work between the Academy, public and private organizations.
In this context, for the academic Anita Jara from the University of San Sebastián de Concepción, the relevance of this type of event, like the immersive tour through Stockholm and Turku, is the ability to impart this type of knowledge to students. "The fantastic thing about being part of academia is that every learning is transferred directly to the students in the development of projects. In our case, in the Collaborative Project Workshop of the University of San Sebastian de Concepcion, we develop real projects for external organizations, we function as an office within the School, so we can apply everything learned to our projects, with the necessary adaptations".
IDENTICAL TWINS: WOOD VS CONCRETE
During the afternoon, the delegation toured two twin 82-apartment buildings located in Hirvensalo: one made of wood and the other of concrete. A real-scale laboratory to measure energy consumption, CO2 emissions, and comfort. The initial data showed that the wooden version requires less resource use to heat the living spaces.
After touring the twin buildings, Fernando Flores reflected on the use of wood in construction: "There is a strong conviction — driven by sustainability and environmental concerns — that wood leads to better products, better buildings that are not only more environmentally friendly, but also more appreciated by those who inhabit them. Ultimately, they become more beloved spaces, and from the perspective of how end users experience them, they are far superior to those built with concrete".
The delegation's tour will continue in the coming days in the city of Helsinki, where they will visit the Keilaniemen Portti project, one of the tallest wooden buildings in the world; Aalto University; as well as participate in Wood Build Finland 2025, an international timber construction conference, which brings together experts in architecture, engineering and construction in this noble element.