Puurakentamisen kehitysalusta

The project focuses on creating a development platform aimed at generating environmentally efficient and scalable solutions for timber construction, particularly from the perspective of industrial construction. The project responds to the growing need for low-carbon building solutions by combining the principles of timber construction, industrial construction, and the circular economy. The target groups include, among others, the wood product industry, construction and building services engineering operators, design offices, technology companies, and research institutions. The project is funded by the Regional Council of North Karelia (AKKE funding). Project consortium includes following university of applied sciences: LAB, XAMK, KAMK, Savonia and Karelia.



The project is motivated by the significant environmental impacts of the construction sector and the need to transition towards low-carbon solutions. Timber construction provides a climate-friendly alternative, yet its use—especially in industrial construction—remains limited. At the same time, green transition–related industrial investments are rapidly increasing, and their construction involves both environmental and energy-related challenges. The project addresses these needs by developing modular, energy-efficient, and circular-economy-driven structural and technological solutions suitable for demanding applications.

The main objective of the project is to establish a value network in Eastern Finland that connects actors from different sectors and supports the development of scalable and export-ready solutions. Additionally, the project aims to launch a Testlab platform for cooperation between higher education institutions and companies, enabling the development, demonstration, and evaluation of solutions for use in industrial buildings such as data centers. The project also seeks to strengthen the national and international visibility of the emerging value network. The work builds upon the results of previous related projects.

The project is divided into three work packages: technical and structural solutions, business models and commercialization, and development of value networks and internationalization. The work packages examine different timber structure and building services engineering solutions from the perspectives of, for example, fire safety, adaptability, disassembly without damage, and building information modeling (BIM) requirements. In addition, a VALUPEX model will be developed to integrate the assessment of investment and operating costs with lifecycle value formation. The project will facilitate knowledge transfer to the target groups and support the initiation of internal and collaborative development processes within companies as well as their internationalization.

As a result of the project, a multidisciplinary, cross-sectoral value network will be established. The project will develop concepts and solutions tailored specifically to the needs of industrial construction. Moreover, it will produce a functional-economic evaluation framework that supports decision-making related to multifunctional and adaptable buildings. The Testbed platform will remain as a permanent RDI environment, and the project will support the emergence of a timber construction network in the Eastern Finland region. The results will also be utilized in education and company development activities after the project ends. The project contributes to the goals of the Eastern Finland bioeconomy program and regional development strategies by increasing the value-added of the wood product industry, strengthening regional expertise, and creating new business opportunities in international markets.