Learning from the past - designing timber multi-story apartment buildings on the basis of the timber construction heritage

Traditional Finnish timber construction is characterized by simplicity, clarity and scanty use of decoration. The traditional construction technique used a timberwork frame, which led to simple, cube-like building masses. Nevertheless, several log buildings erected around one yard formed a rich and varied entity, both in the country and in towns. The distinctive Finnish wooden town represents the peak of Northern timber construction. The long tradition of timber construction was interrupted in the 1900s. Now, as we hope to increase the use of wood and develop timber construction, architectural viewpoints have risen to a position of central importance. In many respects, modern timber architecture can learn from the old timber construction heritage. Modern timber architecture cannot, however, be a direct copy of old architecture. Instead, tradition must be applied in a modern way. Wood is a rich, versatile building material. Its richness comes from its picturesque surface and abundant uses of wood products. The nature of timber architecture is born from the seams and joints of bar-shaped wooden components, which give the wood surface its texture. The good characteristics of wood are best utilized when the entire milieu is wooden, as it was in old wooden towns. That is why it is more important to create whole groups or areas of timber multi-story apartment buildings than separate buildings. Then the timber multi-story or small apartment buildings can be small, simple and clear-cut, according to tradition. Plain building masses can be enriched with supplementary structures, such as shelters, stairways, loft walkways, storage buildings and balconies. A rich environment is created when residential buildings are supplemented with wooden outbuildings and fences. A strong sense of wood material is important in a good wooden milieu. The best modern timber multi-story apartment buildings are characterized by structural clarity. Their timber architecture is lightweight in appearance and includes decorative details. The wood surfaces are treated in various ways and different textures and types of boarding are used. A modern appearance is often created using lattices and gratings. Modern timber architecture also must pay attention to the long-term durability and maintainability of the timber structures and surfaces. In this respect, also, we can learn from the best timber construction heritage. THE FINNISH TIMBER CONSTRUCTION HERITAGE Finns have always had a close relationship with the forest and wood. Because it has always been available and it is easy to work, wood has been a natural building material. Wood has been used to make buildings, furniture, dishes, tools and even vehicles of transportation until the 1900s. The Finnish construction heritage is largely a tradition of timber construction. Old timber construction is characterized by simplicity, clarity and scanty use of decoration, downright asceticism. A harsh climate, a lack of money and the use of wood as almost the only building material forced people to build simply and use plain forms. Wood has been used not only as the load-bearing frame of buildings, but also as the façade, the roof, and the material of doors, windows and other supplementary components. The clarity of timber construction and the adaptation of construction to changing seasons made the Finnish architectural heritage distinctive and durable. (Helander et al. 1989.) Wood was the dominant building material in both the country and in towns. The timberwork of log buildings has been construction technique. For over a thousand years, the traditional construction technique in Finland used a timberwork frame, which was the commonly used method of construction in the entire Northern coniferous forest belt. Up to the 1930s town buildings were also log buildings. The timberwork frame led to simple building masses and the length of the logs gave buildings their uniform scale. Old construction both in the country and in towns was characterized by a large number 1 D.Tech., Senior Lecturer, Department of Architecture, University of Oulu, Box 4100, FIN-90014 UNIVERSITY OF