The Metsä Pavilion is Business Finland’s project with Metsä Group built ready to host events organised by Business Finland and Finnish businesses. Using Metsä Wood’s Kerto LVL as the main material made the construction fast, light and green. Source: Timberbiz
The official opening of the Metsä pavilion, located on the grounds of the Finnish embassy in Tokyo, was held on 6 October. The Pavilion will remain open until the end of 2021, hosting various events organised by Finnish companies and organisations.
“We are happy that many companies have decided to bring their events to the Metsä Pavilion, where wood meets nature scenery on the walls, world-class audio, and design furniture – all from Finland,” Petri Tulensalo Head of Sports Cluster at Business Finland said.
The Metsä Pavilion is a showcase of how to construct a stylish building quickly and efficiently by using standard elements.
The Pavilion was designed by renowned Finnish architectural office Helin & Co Architects. The designs for all the elements used in the Pavilion are freely available on Metsä Wood’s Open Source Wood platform.
“We value the freedom of the architects and engineers to design in an aesthetically pleasing way. With our Open Source Wood Initiative we want to enable them with a variety of options,” Jussi Björman, Director, Business Development, Construction at Metsä Wood said.
The Metsä Pavilion makes the benefits of using prefabricated Kerto LVL (laminated veneer lumber) elements apparent. The elements were manufactured by a Finnish company, Timberpoint. The production of all the wooden columns, beams, and elements took only seven weeks at the factory.
The assembly of the Pavilion at the construction site was quick. It took only 10 days, thanks to the lightweight wooden elements. Additionally, the great workability of Kerto LVL brought rapidness to the process.
Puurakentajat was responsible for the construction.
The connections of the Metsä Pavilion are designed so that the building can be disassembled and assembled again at a new location. The raw materials for the Kerto LVL used in the Metsä Pavilion comes from sustainably managed Finnish forests where the forests grow more than they are used. Every part of each tree is used in the best possible way, therefore almost nothing goes to waste. By-products like sawdust and bark are utilised, for example, as bioenergy in the production of Kerto LVL.
As with all wood products, Kerto LVL stores carbon throughout the whole lifespan of the buildings built with it.
The Metsä Pavilion has met the expectations of Business Finland and Metsä Wood. The pavilion is proof that stylish buildings can be constructed efficiently from prefabricated wooden elements.
“Historically, the pavilion is one of the biggest investments Business Finland has made in the Japanese market. It is also a great way to contribute to the success of the games, and the Japanese really respect it,” Tulensalo from Business Finland said.
