Metsa Wood's Plan B for Germany: Constructing the Reichstag from Wood

PR62865

ESPOO, Finland, Dec. 15 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

In the Plan B project, Metsa Wood explores the possibilities of wood by

planning how to construct iconic buildings out of wood. The third case is the

Reichstag, the home of the German parliament. The design was created together

with Metsa Wood's customer and partner, the leading German timber construction

company FH Finnholz, specifically their construction engineer Andreas

Rutschmann.

     (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151007/274904LOGO )

"Wood construction is the ideal way to both battle climate change and house a

growing urban population. As a large part of the German Parliament's work is

about environmental legislation, it really makes sense that its home is as

sustainable as possible. It was great to hear that Plan B will be presented to

the parliament's department of Energy policy," said Andreas Rutschmann.

As the Reichstag is a combination of different styles, this historical

reconstruction with wood poses three different technical challenges; the

entrance with wooden columns, the wooden dome structure and the wood frame

office. Kerto(R) LVL engineered wood is light, fast to design and construct, as

well as the most green of building materials.

"Rethinking the Reichstag was a fascinating project that allowed us to test the

versatility of engineered wood on an iconic design that combines styles from

different decades. Kerto can easily meet the different demands of high-end,

industrial and office architecture. If the Reichstag would be constructed out

of wood today, it would easily be awarded the Golden Certificate (DGNB)," said

Senior Vice President of Building & Industry Jari Tikkanen.

Few buildings have gone through as many changes as the Reichstag. The original

building was finished in 1894 and it housed the Imperial Diet until 1933 when

the building was severely damaged by a fire. The building was reconstructed

after the German reunification in 1990 and it became the home of the German

parliament in 1999. The world-renowned architect Sir Norman Foster led the

reconstruction.

In addition to the Reichstag, designs for the Empire State Building and the

Roman Colosseum can be found on Metsa Wood's website. More designs will be

published later. http://www.metsawood.com/planb.

Pictures: http://databank.metsagroup.com/?cart=5747-aiibldbfgf&l=EN

For more information, please contact:

Susanna Siira, Marketing and Communications Manager, Metsa Wood,

susanna.siira@metsagroup.com, t. +358-400-606-082

Metsa Wood is a Finnish wood supplier that provides premium-quality wood

products for construction, industrial and distribution customers, aiming to

open up the almost endless possibilities of wood. The company is strong in

Europe, with ambitious global growth targets. Metsa Wood's primary products are

Nordic premium timber, plywood and Kerto(R) LVL. Metsa Wood is a part of Metsa

Group, which covers the whole wood value chain from sustainably grown forest to

various wood-based products like timber, plywood, pulp, paperboard and tissue

and cooking papers.

Source: Metsa Wood