Modern Finnish wooden town

Jouni KOISO-KANTTILA
Professor of architecture
University of Oulu, Department of Architecture
Oulu, Finland

Curriculum Vitae
Architect 1973, Licentiate of Science (Technology) 1976, assistant in architecture at the University
of Oulu, Department of Architecture 1977-1987, professor 1988-. 1st vice-rector of the University of
Oulu 1993-, director of the University of Oulu’s Wood Studio 1995-, member of the Finnish
Academy of Technology 1996-, director of the national Graduate School of Timber Construction
2002-. Own architects’ office 1973-2003. National WOOD award 2003.

Summary
Finnish towns have traditionally been low-slung wooden towns. However, during the last fifty years
construction in Finland has been dominated by multi-story concrete element apartment buildings.
Now a modern wooden town area comprised of six town blocks and 45 two or three-story apartment
buildings has been constructed in Oulu under the supervision of the Wood Studio of the University
of Oulu’s Department of Architecture. The goal was to employ modern construction technology and
architecture in constructing a housing development with positive milieu features similar to those of
old, esteemed wooden towns and also to present an alternative to conventional multi-story
apartment building construction. Following this first experimental construction project, a national
Modern Wooden Town project was initiated in Finland, in which several new wooden town areas
are being planned and constructed in different parts of the country.

- architecture, town planning, milieu, scale, timber construction

Tradition of wooden towns

The Modern Wooden Town in Oulu’s Linnanmaa area is the first of many modern wooden town
areas being planned and constructed in Finland. This experimental construction project ideated by
Professor Jouni Koiso-Kanttila was started in 1997 by a research team of the Wood Studio of the
University of Oulu’s Department of Architecture. The Wood Studio had previously designed and
implemented one of Finland’s first modern multi-story timber apartment buildings, Kiinteistö Oy
Puukotka, in Oulu within the framework of the Wood in Construction Technology Programme.

That project, together with the other modern multi-story timber apartment buildings, indicated that,
consistent with our goals, we had succeeded in developing a modern multi-story timber apartment
building whose structural and functional properties, particularly concerning sound insulation and
fire resistance, meet all of today’s requirements. Nevertheless, having participated in the
development work, we began to ponder if constructing multi-story apartment buildings out of wood
rather than concrete brought sufficient added value to construction or especially to residents.
Shouldn’t we preferably concentrate on the diverse architectural possibilities of wood and construct
entire wooden milieus instead of individual multi-story timber apartment buildings?

Finnish towns have traditionally been wooden towns. Only fifty years ago all the towns, except for
Helsinki and the centres of a few other large towns, were constructed from wood. During the period
of intense urbanisation that followed, wooden towns have been torn down and rebuilt. This
reconstruction, both in old wooden towns and new suburbs, has favoured an open town structure
and the use of concrete as a construction material, in line with the ideals of Modernism. Of all the
western European countries, today only Spain has a larger concentration of multi-story apartment
buildings than Finland. Contradictory with the dominant method of construction, several different
studies indicate that people hold single-family homes as the ideal mode of living and wood as the
material best suited for residential environments.

Fig. 1. Streetscape in old Porvoo. Fig. 2. View of an alley in Oulu’s (Linnanmaa’s)

Modern Wooden Town area.
Old Finnish wooden towns are esteemed and admired. It is not possible to reproduce something old,
but those towns have many features from which we can learn. Milieu, scale and details of wood are
not bound to architectural styles. Therefore, an intentional goal of the Modern Wooden Town
project initiated by the Wood Studio of the University of Oulu’s Department of Architecture was to
employ modern construction technology and architecture in constructing a residential area with
features similar to those of old wooden towns: a closely-spaced human scale; controlled variation of
buildings instead of uniformity; narrow, closed streetscapes and hierarchical variation in the
streetscapes; and sheltered yards within residential blocks. At the same time the purpose of Oulu’s
Puu-Linnanmaa project was to demonstrate the diverse architectural possibilities of modern timber
construction, nevertheless with the primary goal of developing a new type of closely-spaced town
structure.

Oulu’s Puu-Linnanmaa
Oulu’s Modern Wooden Town project is a 12-hectare experimental construction area of 23-story
timber apartment buildings and small wooden apartment buildings. The city of Oulu calls the area
Puu-Linnanmaa.

The town plan of the area was compiled by the Wood Studio of the University of Oulu’s
Department of Architecture under the direction of Professor Jouni Koiso-Kanttila. The co-ordinator
of the project was Architect, D.Sc. (Tech.) Markku Karjalainen. All the buildings in the area have a
wood façade and most also have a timber frame. The total floor area is about 25,000 m2 and the
residential floor area is about 20,000 m2. The area’s six blocks will contain 45 residential buildings
with 308 apartments for around 450500 residents. All of the buildings except two are ready.
 The area is centrally located in
Oulu, across from the main
building of the University of
Oulu, close to Scandinavia’s
largest technology park. All six
of the area’s blocks had different
developers, designers and
contractors. This way as many
quarters as possible were able to
gain experience in timber
construction within the
framework of the project.
Different structural and
construction solutions were also
employed in the different blocks,
making it possible to experiment
with different types of products
and construction techniques in
different buildings. Because all
the blocks also had different
architectural designers, there is
variation in the architecture and
Fig. 3. Illustration of Oulu’s Puu-Linnanmaa area. details of the buildings in line
with the original goals.

In the planning phase of the area’s town plan, several alternative town plans were developed for the
area. In testing the plans attention was focused on the creation of streetscapes and yards, the size of
the buildings and blocks, and the comprehensibility of the town’s spatial scale. Several supporting
studies were conducted at the Wood Studio during the course of the project, including Architect
Risto Suikkari’s research on the characteristic features of Finnish wooden towns, Doctor Markku
Karjalainen’s research on the fire resistance of wooden façades and Doctor Anu Soikkeli’s research
on the long-term durability of wooden façades. Special attention was also paid to the fire safety of
the area by planning routes on the plots to accommodate modern fire-fighting equipment in
extinguishing and rescue operations. However, it is necessary to emphasise that the area’s
construction did not require any deviations from or alleviation of currently effective construction
codes.

To support the area’s town plan, very detailed construction instructions were compiled in order to
achieve controlled variation in building masses and façades. Traditional ridge roofs were specified
for the residential buildings in the area. The spaces within the blocks are partitioned by closed
carports and outbuildings containing storage rooms and other auxiliary rooms. At the same time as
the Wood Studio’s planning team planned the area’s town plan, the team was also responsible for
the planning of the first block, Kiinteistö Oy Linnakotka. This way the block could easily be used as
a test block for alternative town plans.

In planning the area together with the city of Oulu’s planning and street construction departments,
particular attention was placed on the dimensions of the streets. Alleys constructed in the area are a
new element in modern Finnish construction. The alleys intentionally create hierarchical differences
between different types of travel routes. All the streets and alleys are much narrower than usual; the
distance between buildings along the main street is 16 metres, and along alleys, 810 metres.

Fig. 4. Cross-sectional drawing of a street in Fig. 5. Cross-sectional drawing of an alley in

Puu-Linnanmaa. Puu-Linnanmaa.

Because multi-story timber apartment building construction economically permits more variation in
the layout of masses than concrete construction, this was utilised in Oulu’s Modern Wooden Town
area by dividing the residential multi-story apartment buildings into smaller units than is customary.
The efficiency of Puu-Linnanmaa’s blocks varies between 0.53 and 0.60, which corresponds to
conventional multi-story apartment building construction. However, the space created by the small
wooden apartment buildings has a smaller scale and resembles the rich formation of space in old
wooden towns more than in conventional multi-story apartment building construction. Perhaps
modern timber construction shouldn’t strive to produce less expensive buildings than earlier
concrete construction, but rather
the economy of timber
construction should be exploited
by making buildings with better
quality and more beautiful living
environments for the price of
concrete buildings. The entire
Puu-Linnanmaa area is
constructed at the cost of
conventional multi-story
apartment building construction,
without any special support.
Thus, in accordance with its
goals, the area also demonstrates
the economic competitiveness of
Fig. 6. Aerial view of Linnanmaa’s Modern Wooden Town area. modern timber construction.

Feedback from area residents

Most of the buildings in the area are already two or three years old, so Architect Risto Suikkari was
able to conduct a survey of the residents. The results will be published this coming autumn. Already
now, though, the Puu-Linnanmaa area can be given good grades on the basis of the survey. The
residents have experienced the method of construction in the area, the closed street spaces and
sheltered yards, as positive aspects, and they have not felt the area is too closely spaced. The
residents especially praised the small features and small buildings in the area and the scale they
create. The alleys are pleasant, but some residents feel the yards are too small. They complain that
the parking areas in the middle of the blocks consume too much space. This criticism is justified,
and accordingly, about one third of the parking spaces in new wooden town areas are located along
the streets or in parking areas opening onto the streets. The carports have also received justified
criticism because of their height, although not from residents.

The residents are pleased by the wood atmosphere of the area – which was expected on the basis of
the results of earlier studies. The residents also valued the differences between the buildings, the
varied details and the abundant use of colours. As a matter of fact, the residents hoped for even
more use of details in the buildings.

Nation-wide Modern Wooden Town project

Encouraged by Oulu’s Modern Wooden Town project, a nation-wide Modern Wooden Town project
was started in Finland based on an initiative of the Wood Studio of the University of Oulu’s
Department of Architecture. The primary goal of the project is to promote town-like timber
construction and present an alternative to the prevailing method of planning and construction. The
objective of the project is to create pleasant, high-quality neighbourhoods of wooden houses in
different parts of Finland.

Fig. 7. Photo of Porvoo’s Modern Wooden Town Fig.8 . Photo of Espoo’s Friisilä area.
area.

The main supporters of the Modern Wooden Town project have been the National Technology
Agency of Finland (TEKES), the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture and
Forestry and Wood Focus Oy. The national co-ordinator of the project is the Wood Studio of the
University of Oulu’s Department of Architecture. Numerous modern wooden town areas are
currently being constructed or planned in Finland, and many towns have decided to start new
projects.

Fig. 9. View of Tuusula’s Modern Wooden Town Fig. 10. Drawing of Jyväskylä’s Haapaniemi
area. area.
The size of the areas varies from entities of a few residential blocks, such as in Sodankylä, Tuusula,
Espoo’s Friisilä and Vantaa’s Ylästö, to entirely new sections of town. The largest completed
project is Oulu’s Puu-Linnanmaa, and a modern wooden town of similar size is under construction
in Jyväskylä’s Haapaniemi and in
the planning phase in Keuruu,
Lohja and Parainen. Significantly
larger wooden town areas are
already under construction in
Porvoo and Lahti, where the new
Karisto section of town will be
implemented as a modern
wooden town. A new extensive
area is also being planned in
Helsinki, where an international
architectural competition for the
planning of Etelä-Myllypuro’s
wooden ”urban village” was
recently concluded.

Fig. 11. Winning proposal of Helsinki’s Myllypuro Modern

Wooden Town area’s architectural competition.

Conclusions
After a long period of multi-story apartment building construction in Finland that has depended on
concrete element technology, it is time to awaken to see the possibilities offered by closely-spaced,
low-slung housing construction. Closely-spaced, small-scale timber construction is traditional and
valued in all the Scandinavian countries. The first area implemented by the Modern Wooden Town
project, Oulu’s Puu-Linnanmaa area, and the many new areas that have followed its example have
indicated that similar modern town-like milieus comprised of wooden single-family houses and
small apartment houses are possible, as is rich creation of space resembling old wooden towns.

Future housing construction should mainly concentrate on constructing two-story, closely-spaced

town-like neighbourhoods for reasons of living comfort, ecology and economy. The closely-spaced,
low-slung method of construction makes it possible to return space and scale to towns and villages
– human scale.