A green suburb that is being added to the southern Norwegian city of Fredrikstad will showcase the latest in prefabricated timber construction.
The Verksbyen project will include five five-storey apartment blocks built using the Kerto system developed by Finnish timber firm Metsä Wood. This uses beams made from LVL – laminated veneer lumber – to stiffen the building’s structure.
Arca Nova Bolig, the scheme’s developer, aims to complete homes for 5,000 people over the next 10 years. The homes will be located in the Capjon Park area of Fredrikstad.
Work under way on fitting the LVL "S beams" to stiffen the floors (Arca Nova)
Ruben Hansen, the chief executive of Arca Nova Bolig, commented in a press statement: "We have managed to reduce carbon emissions in a variety of ways. The houses are built with timber elements according to the passive house standard. Electricity is produced with solar energy and heating with solar thermal energy."
Work is presently under way on the scheme, and according to Metsä Wood, the apartments can be erected at the rate of one storey a week.
The first of the blocks will be finished by the end of this year, and the rest by the end of 2020.
Top image: Arca Nova’s rendering of the completed scheme
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