Multi-storey timber housing in the Nordic countries

A Nordic research and development program "Multi-storey timber houses" has been run sines early 1995. The purpose is to demonstrate that timber building systems may be a competitive and cost effective alternative for buildings up to 4-5 storeys. 14 field building projects (mainly residential with a total of 600 flats) from Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark are associated with the program. In addition, a number of applied research projects designed to support the technology are included in the program. The research is interdisciplinary and system oriented and includes e.g. fire, acoustics, moisture effects structural stability floor vibration durability production methods, economy and architecture. A strong network of professionals from the building sector and researchers has been formed as a result of the program. In the Nordic countries a rapid development of multi-storey limber building has taken place since the early 1990:ies. The dominating system for multi-residential building is timber frame, but there is a growing interest to apply massive floor and wall systems. The results so far indicate that timber systems have the potential to be quite competitive on the Nordic market. Various production methods has been employed, from on-site construction to volume element prefabrication, but there is no general agreement to what is the most efficient method.