8.4.2010

Demand in China for expertise in wood construction
An energy-efficient building by TAMK University of Applied Sciences for a Chinese megapolis

TAMK University of Applied Sciences has exported Finnish expertise in wood construction to China. Last year TAMK built a two-storey detached house with a surface area of 230 square metres for the 8-million inhabitant university city of Shenyang.

The building of Finnish timber was built under the leadership of TAMK University of Applied Sciences in summer 2009. In the photo Xia Huanhuan (left), Miikka Huhtamäki, Shefu Wang and Ville Lehtineva.The site managers were the students of construction technology Huhtamäki and Lehtineva. High resolution image (1,92 Mb) Photo: TAMK	The energy-efficient wooden building stands on the campus of the large Shenyang University. This photo was taken in November, when the interior of the building, which houses meeting and guest accommodation facilities, was nearing completion. High resolution image (1,02 Mb) Photo: TAMK

Chinese and Finnish students of construction technology in TAMK University of Applied Sciences designed a building for the Chinese university campus including residential, meeting and sauna facilities. The building was completed to exemplify energy-efficiency, partly because the Chinese estimate that their energy self-sufficiency will not last beyond 2020.

All the timber for the building – frame, doors, windows and wall and roofing materials – was transported from Finland. The foundations and the building itself were completed last summer; the Chinese had no previous experience, for example, of underdraining to prevent damp or of water insulation in the sauna. The building will withstand earthquakes better than the stone and concrete structures which are common in the area.

Co-operation between TAMK and Shenyang Jianzhu (SJZU) University began already 15 years ago. Funding for the construction of the wooden house was granted two years ago.

Apart from TAMK those in Finland participating in the construction of the wooden building were Late-Rakenteet Oy, Pirkanmaan Ristikko Oy, Starkki Oy and Väärin Puutavara Ky.

From co-operation in wood construction to export of education

At the beginning of the co-operation between Tampere and Shenyang students and personnel in Tampere learned about the Chinese construction regulations and compared them to those in Finland. At the same time TAMK wood construction projects set the stage for product development in the field and for the export of construction expertise to China.

In China timber only grows in the north of the country, but it is not viable for wood construction. China imports construction timber from Russia.

The energy-efficiency of the wooden building constructed in China is monitored by the university partners using numerous devices. It is planned to monitor the energy-efficiency remotely over the Internet and to compare findings with corresponding measurements in buildings constructed in the Chinese way. The results will be utilized in the partners’ research and product development co-operation.

The wooden building also does a lot for the export of education to China. The initial idea is to export more expertise and at the same time to try to open up export channels for Finnish timber structures and furnishings.

Exporting TAMK expertise in wood construction and Finnish wood construction products may lead to the export to China of expertise in the mass production of wooden houses; rising prosperity in China has actually led to a demand for the construction of housing areas in wood. It would also make sense for the Finns to offer the Chinese their top expertise in environmental and waste management technology.

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