What’s new

The aim of the project is to increase circularity in forest-based packaging and wood construction. We will do this by highlighting good circular business ideas and contributing to commercialization and upscaling. We see the benefits of collaborating across the Norway-Sweden border because we have a number of forest-based businesses based on the same raw materials and geography. So we believe that the chances of succeeding in both scaling up circular solutions and developing innovation systems are greater when we expand the geography and learn from each other.

This week, we gathered all project partners for a kickoff in Sunne. The project is run by the business clusters Paper Province and Norwegian Wood Cluster. We have five strong innovation environments in the region on board: Klosser Innovation, Kjeller Innovation, Circular Packaging Cluster, Dalarna Science Park and Innovatum Science Park. We’re proud to have a good group of people with a lot of varied experience in innovation and business development.

The CBA project runs for three years (August 23-July 26) and is funded through Interreg Sweden-Norway with support from Innlandet County Council, Viken County Council, Region Dalarna, Region Värmland, Region Västra Götaland and Vinnova.

The award ceremony took place at Høyres Hus in Oslo on November 31, and OsloTre won the award ahead of two other nominees, Hydro and SINTEF. Jury chair Hanne Rønneberg and chairman Audun Lågøyr Entreprenørforeningen Bygg og Anlegg Oslo, Akershus og Østfold, hosted the ceremony.

The jury’s reasoning states that “OsloTre AS is an architectural consultancy specializing in wooden structures. The company has several years of experience in architecture, timber engineering, CLT production and assembly, and offers complete architect-designed buildings as well as customized, modular and prefabricated architectural solutions in wood. In addition to its architectural and engineering expertise, OsloTre has a background as founders of solid wood production and as a contractor on major construction projects.”

Here you can read the jury’s entire statement.

An important resource in the cluster

– “We congratulate our member OsloTre on a well-deserved award. Our cluster is concerned with innovation and sustainability in the construction industry, and OsloTre is a strong driving force for development. It is a great strength that the architectural firms participate in the cluster together with other players, so that the entire value chain is represented. In this way, we can strengthen each other and develop more and better wood-based building solutions,” says Berit Sanness, cluster manager of the Norwegian Wood Cluster.

– The construction industry has the potential to make a major contribution to reducing the climate footprint, and OsloTre’s initiatives are good examples of how to make this possible,” says Sanness.

Won on climate change, innovation and sharing

There are three criteria that are considered when the winner of the Construction Industry Climate Prize is chosen:

– Measurability – can measurable climate reductions be shown

– Degree of innovation – how innovative is the solution

– Spreading and sharing – is this a role model for others

In the areas of measurability and sharing, Hasletre was highlighted as an example. The project has received a lot of attention for its innovative and climate-friendly solutions, and OsloTre has willingly shared its experience and knowledge of the process. OsloTre and Hasletre won the “Wood Building of the Year” award in 2022.

Proud winner

Jørgen Tycho is a partner and one of the founders of OsloTre, and accepted the award on behalf of the firm. “I never thought we would win, there were two other very good nominees and very heavy players. We are a small office with 16 employees and are honored that our work is noticed in this way,” said Tycho.

He said that the prize money of NOK 250,000 will be put to good use – “It will be used for a study trip to Japan, where we can learn from the masters,” he said.

On December 5, NSW Architecture and the National Conference for Wood Architecture hosted an afternoon seminar at the premises of NSW Architecture in Oslo. The theme for the evening was the Terminal Building at Gardermoen, which was opened in 1998.

The terminal building is described as one of the most iconic buildings in modern Norwegian architectural history. After 25 years, it is possible to lift the veil a little. The questions at the seminar were: Why was the terminal’s roof structure built in wood and not steel? What impact has this building had on Norwegian architecture and Norwegian industry?

From Hurum to Gardermoen

NSW Arkitektur was involved in designing the new airport terminal, which shows innovative use of Norwegian materials. At the seminar, the partner and founder of NSW Arkitektur talked about the process of developing one of Norway’s largest land-based development projects. The terminal building was to be characterized by Norwegian and Nordic calm, and by “silent monumentality”.

The architectural team that won the competition consisted of Niels Torp Arkitekter, Skaarup og Jespersen Arkitekter and Narud Stokke Wiig Arkitektur (NSW). They won with a clear concept:

– Norwegian natural stone on the floor of the arrivals hall, reminiscent of the Norwegian bedrock.

– Wood in departure areas, inspired by the surrounding forests.

– Steel in the roof structure, to give a light and striving expression, with light canvas above that lifted towards the sky.

The three architectural offices behind the winning design were organized through Aviaplan AS to continue work on the new terminal building.

From steel to wood

Ole Wiig, the founder of Narud Stokke Wiig Arkitektur (NSW), was president of the Norwegian Association of Architects in the early 1990s. He was a key supplier of premises for the first stage of construction of the terminal building at Gardermoen.

– When the terminal was moved from Hurum to Gardermoen, the architectural team Aviaplan AS continued with the concept we had developed. However, the Storting decided that the roof structures should be built in wood, so there was a change,” Wiig explained. He pointed out that it was a unanimous transport committee in the Storting that decided that the roof structures should be built in wood, with Sissel Rønbeck as rapporteur.

– We experienced a political commitment to strengthen the use of Norwegian materials and to increase the use of wood in the terminal building. The then Minister of Culture, Åse Kleveland, our first and only “Minister of Architecture”, was strongly committed to this. Minister of Transport Kjell Opseth was also a driving force. The rest of the government got behind it, and the final result was both Fauskemarmor and Otta slate in the floors, and wood in the roof structures, on the floors and in a number of other places,” says Wiig.

Innovation boost with the Viking Ship

Moelven Limtre was chosen to supply the wooden structures at Gardermoen. At the seminar, Åge Holmestad gave a historical review of the innovation work that had taken place at Moelven Limtre and which enabled the company to supply solutions for the terminal building at Gardermoen.

Åge Holmestad is a former technical manager and general manager at Moelven Limtre, and played a key role in Moelven Limtre’s innovation work to build the Viking Ship in Hamar for the 1994 Olympics. Glulam arches with spans of as much as 96 m were made there.

– It was the Viking Ship that was the real breakthrough for Moelven’s advanced glulam solutions. A lot of innovation took place during that process, and we improved as a company. After the Viking Ship, we went from innovation to development in many ways,” said Holmestad.

– In this sense, Moelven’s assignment at Gardermoen was technically relatively straightforward, because we could build on our expertise from the Olympic facilities. The major new challenges were related to design, layout and surfaces. The terminal building is an example of how architects are our best friends. After all, architects are much quicker to take on new things than engineers. Together with the architects, we also found solutions for design, layout and surfaces, so it was an exciting building to work on,” says Holmestad.

He explained that after the terminal building at Gardermoen, Moelven Limtre saw increased demand for long-span wooden bridges. As the company could also supply sports halls with long spans, demand also increased.

– This opened up completely new markets for us, thanks to the expertise we gained from building the Viking Ship and then delivering the wooden structures with a new design for the terminal building at Gardermoen,” said Holmestad.

The expertise gained from the Viking Ship and wooden bridges meant that Moelven Limtre was able to deliver solutions to Treet in Bergen and then Mjøstårnet, the world’s tallest wooden building…

Emphasis on quality

When the terminal building at Gardemoen opened in the fall of 1998, it was clear that it had become a beautiful building with great use of wood and Norwegian natural stone in large parts of the terminal building.

– We were keen to create a simple visual expression. Passengers should be put at ease when they enter the building. The emphasis throughout was on quality and robustness. This meant that we had to use good materials that could withstand high wear and tear. We also needed a concept that meant people in the building would have as few changes of direction as possible,” says Lise Rystad of NSW Arkitektur, who worked on the wooden beams and the use of wood in the terminal building at Gardermoen.

– In 1998, the terminal building was built as an airport, so this was well taken care of. “The new phase of construction is more in keeping with the fact that it is both an airport and a shopping center,” said Rystad.

The national conference for wood architecture

The Norwegian Wood Cluster is one of the partners of the National Conference on Wood Architecture, which held its first conference ten years ago. The next full-day conference will be held in Oslo on April 4, 2024.

Read more about Trearkitektur here: https://www.trearkitektur.no/

Watch the video: VIDEO: Iconic Norwegian wooden architecture: Oslo Airport (youtube.com)

Bergene Holm AS is a Norwegian timber group with 450 employees in seven production departments. The head office and two production departments are located in Larvik municipality, while operations otherwise take place at departments in Åmli, Holmestrand, Grue, Kongsvinger and Sør-Odal. In 2022, the Group had a turnover of NOK 2.3 billion.

Interesting collaboration opportunities

– “The Norwegian Wood Cluster has many interesting members from different parts of the value chain, so we expect the cluster to be an exciting arena for sharing knowledge and looking at collaboration opportunities,” says CEO Erland Løkken. He believes that Bergene Holm can contribute to the cluster with, among other things, expertise in sustainability, innovation, communication and digital solutions.

– “We see ourselves as a forward-looking company that is proactive and a driving force in several fields. We bring this into the Norwegian Wood Cluster. The value chain also has common documentation needs in various areas, which is an obvious area for collaboration,” says Løkken.

The meeting was the first of a series of breakfast seminars organized under the auspices of Klimavennlige bygg Innlandet. The meeting opened with a briefing on the project, and Eivind Selvig spoke on the topic What is a climate-friendly building? There are no clear answers to the question, but the goal must be for the building to have a significantly lower climate footprint than those built according to “normal” practice.

– The climate-friendly buildings use materials that have a low climate footprint, including reuse. Energy consumption should be low and the proportion of renewable energy must be high. In addition, emissions at the construction site, the choice of building land and location with regard to transportation have a lot to do with the total,” Selvig explained.

Climate Friendly Buildings Innlandet has chosen to emphasize climate-friendly material choices, although it is the sum of all the focus areas that will contribute to the overall goal: to reduce CO2 emissions in the Norwegian construction industry and help to achieve national climate goals and the goals of the Paris Agreement.

At the meeting at Bylab, three players were brought in to talk about their work on the newly opened Drivkrafthuset in Hamar. The 13,000 m2 building was completed in November 2023 after an impressive construction period of just 22 months. The developer Utstillingsplassen Eiendom, tenant Eidsiva and contractor Betonmast Innlandet all have clear ambitions for sustainability, including greenhouse gas emissions. This was reflected, among other things, in the use of environmentally friendly, purified environmental concrete, which produces 75% lower greenhouse gas emissions than traditional concrete, and the use of robust materials throughout. The eco-concrete’s low emissions are partly due to the addition of reused excavated material that has been washed, cleaned and sorted. The building will be certified as BREEAM Excellent and has calculated greenhouse gas emissions from materials that are at least 20% lower than the reference level achieved. It has energy label A and is built as a passive house with a leakage rate of 0.3. The building is connected to Eidsiva Bioenergi’s district heating system for space heating, hot water and space cooling (absorptive cooling). The district heating was also used for building drying. There is also a photovoltaic system on the roof.

Over the next few weeks, similar breakfast seminars will be held at

• Lillehammer Wednesday, January 24

• Kongsvinger Wednesday, January 31

• Gjøvik Wednesday, February 7

Program

08:00 Doors open
Refreshments, mingling and visit to the exhibition

09.30 – 13.45 Conference opening
09.00 Welcome
Knut Werner Lindeberg Alsén and Aasmund Bunkholt

09.35 – 13.45 Session 1 Architecture and Artificial Intelligence
09:35 Artificial intelligence and digital transformation
By architect Hugo Nilsen CEO at OCODU Design Lab
09:55 A new workflow – digital fabrication.
By architect Aksel Ludvigsen, Technology Lead LOF Architects

10:10 “Rethinking Architecture in the age of A.I.”
By architect Tim Fu, Studio Tim Fu (transmitted digitally, live)

10:30 Break with mingling, activities at the exhibition and refreshments

Activities in the exhibition

– 3D printing showcase
– Exhibitions & new products and much more!”
– 3DNet, showcasing the latest in desktop 3D printing

11:00 Making architects accountable again, by democratising the access to building knowledge. By Franz Forsberg, CEO Spacio

11:30 Artificial intelligence requires knowledge and intelligence about the material properties of wood and its potential.
Sustainability Manager Hege Voll Midtgaard, Bergene Holm

11:50 -12:30 Lunch with mingling and visit to the exhibition

12:30 Digital Materiality in Architecture.
Professor and architect Fabio Gramazio, ETH Zurich

12:55 Seeing is Believing: How Visual Technologies Empower Communities. Dr. Scient. Associate Professor Ramzi Hassan, NMBU

13:10 Dialogue between speakers and conference participants

13:45 – 14:00 Break: Mingling and refreshments

14:00 – 15:00 Session 2 Presentation of subject networks and groups

14.00 Geometry group- SINTEF
Researcher Konstantinos Gavriil, SINTEF

14:10 NMBUtre Project manager
Project manager Knut Magnar Sandland, NMBU
Associate professor Gabrielle Bergh, NMBU

14.20 Norwegian Wood Cluster
Cluster leader Berit Sanness

14.30 InnoTre
Cluster leader Krister Moen

14.40 Wood Works! Cluster
Cluster leader Kjersti Kinderås

14.50 AHO WORKS AWARDS (Outstanding use of wood in architecture)
Winner Brage Banken Lervåg, AHO (Project: “Book exchange”)

15.00 Closing time

The conference is streamed. Info and registration

The Norwegian Wood Cluster is one of the supporters of the Wood Conference in 2024.

The project “Packaging and construction – circular resource utilization and packaging of wood materials for construction” has been carried out as a collaborative project between the Circular Packaging Cluster and the Norwegian Wood Cluster, and with support from Viken County Council. The main purpose of the project has been to collaborate on solutions for better resource utilization of wood for buildings and contribute to efficient, circular packaging in the wood industry and construction industry.

The basic idea behind the project is to transfer experience between the packaging value chain and the wood industry in order to contribute to a more circular, industrial economy. Packaging has been actively developing circular business models for many years and the turnover rate is high, making the value chain well suited to the development and piloting of various systemic, technical and commercial solutions.

– For our companies, it has been useful to get to know the systemic thinking of the Circular Packaging Cluster. Among other things, the project has identified blockages to increased circularity in the wood industry, which the Circular Packaging Cluster will present during the webinar. In addition, Forestia, as part of the project, has rethought the packaging area and made very interesting experiences, which Forestia’s CEO. Kristian Hanssen will talk about,” says cluster leader Berit Sanness.

Program 8.30-10.00

Brief introduction to the clusters and the project

v/Ola Ronæss, Circular Packaging Cluster, and Berit Sanness, Norwegian Wood Cluster

Project findings: Circular barriers and solutions in the wood industry

v/Ola Ronæss and Jørgen Ingeberg, Circular Packaging Cluster

CASE: Testing a solution where cardboard replaces chipboard as packaging

v/adm.dir. Kristian Hanssen, Forestia AS

Questions and comments

You can also find the program here

Registration

Link to registration can be found here: REGISTRATION

First up was a webinar on weighting climate in public procurement on January 30. It was attended by 32 people from municipalities, consultancy firms and construction companies. Eivind Selvig gave an introduction to the new requirement that climate must be weighted with a minimum of 30 percent in public tenders.

How should the requirement be practiced, and what do the new requirements mean for the construction sector? The public sector purchases goods for around NOK 740 billion a year (Statistics Norway 2023), and the climate footprint of these procurements is approximately 10.3 million tons of CO2 (Menon, 2023). Eivind showed various examples of how requirements and weighting can be designed, as well as a brief presentation of DFØ’s guide. You can watch a recording of the webinar here.

Kongsvinger: Climate-friendly buildings that lead the way

On January 31, 19 people met for a breakfast seminar at Sentrum VGS in Kongsvinger. Edward Aas, Sustainability Manager at ØM Fjeld, presented the BREEAM Outstanding project The Plus and four different forms of contract that the company has worked with in processes involving climate-friendly buildings. ØM Fjeld’s own conclusion was that the form of contract is set based on the criteria and requirements determined by the developer, and that cooperation and trust are crucial to achieving climate-friendly buildings.

The debate panel included Ole Gunnar Holen from Sør-Odal municipality, Anders Hauger from Arkitektlaget and Asgeir Kvam from Sweco. Together with the contractors, architects and consultants in attendance, there was discussion and exchange on the topic of reuse. “Today, it’s not clear how best to compare costs between building new and renovating. We need to get better at this, and we need some guides for the work.

A number of wishes emerged from the meeting; about rehabilitation, forms of construction, greenhouse gas calculations and climate planning in smaller construction projects. The participants clearly expressed that they wanted a local meeting place to discuss and further develop these topics and ideas.

Stangeskovene AS was established in 1899 and comprises forest properties, production of timber and windows as well as building materials stores. In total, the Group has approximately 270 employees and a total turnover of approximately NOK 1.3 million. Most of the Group’s operations are located in Østfold, the eastern part of >Akershus and the southern part of Inland Norway. The head office is located in Aurskog-Høland in Akershus.

Interesting in several key areas
– Stangeskovene is one of the few companies that encompasses the entire wood-mechanical value chain with forestry, industry and building materials. This makes it natural for the group to participate in the Norwegian Wood Cluster, as the entire business can participate in a joint program,” says CEO Per Morten Wangen. Per Morten Wangen, Stangeskovene AS.

– For us, membership of the Norwegian Wood Cluster will be particularly interesting in the areas of sustainability with associated certifications, skills development and recruitment of the workforce of the future, standardization and increased digitization in the industry’s transaction exchange in the value chain. We therefore look forward to taking an active part in the cluster’s work and contributing to a good sharing culture,” says Wangen.

Valuable supplement
Cluster leader Berit Sanness welcomes Stangeskovene AS as a member of the cluster.

– As an integrated business, Stangeskovene will be able to contribute expertise and participate in various interdisciplinary forums within the Norwegian Wood Cluster. The Group also signals that it will be able to clarify and test conditions in various sub-projects that require integrated collaboration. Stangeskovene thus represents a valuable supplement to the current members,” says Berit Sanness.

Formally, it is the board of Norwegian Wood Cluster SA that processes applications for membership of the cluster. Stangeskovene AS was admitted as a member during the board meeting on February 6, 2024.

The aim of the seminar was to provide insight into how the EU taxonomy affects the financial industry and, in particular, what products banks can offer within green loans.

– The overview from Finance Norway provided the right platform before Kommunalbanken, DNB Bank, SpareBank1 Østlandet and Innovation Norway contributed with their presentations. The banks’ presentations complemented each other well, so I think we got a lot of interesting insights through the seminar,” says cluster manager Berit Sanness of Norwegian Wood Cluster.

– In addition to the speakers delivering very interesting presentations, there was also good dialog with the participants. The feedback was also that the banks’ representatives found it useful to be updated on other banks’ work with the taxonomy and green loans, so we are pleased with that,” says Sanness.

The big picture

It’s essential for the forestry and timber industry to keep a close eye on what’s happening in the field of sustainable finance. It was therefore worth its weight in gold that Kristian Ruth, Director of Sustainability at Finance Norway, had made the trip to Mjøstårnet to give the status of sustainable finance and analyze where we are heading.

CEO Kristian Ruth gave a very good overview of the situation in the EU today and talked about expectations for the future. The legal requirements lead to a significant increase in reporting requirements and affect companies at different times depending on their size.

– Although there is a lot to get to grips with, the aim is that the EU taxonomy will simplify matters. As more companies are required to submit sustainability reports, we will have a basis for comparing companies. The taxonomy will set clear boundaries for what is sustainable and what is not. In this way, the framework of the EU taxonomy can help guide companies in the right direction,” Ruth explained.

In the coming years, a lot of sustainability information will be reported for the first time and the market’s response will be crucial.

– Our advice is that it is already wise to prepare for the coming reporting requirements regarding sustainable finance,” said Kristian Ruth.