Metsa Wood Launches 'Open Source Wood'

PR68995

ESPOO, Finland, June 20, 2017 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

    A pioneering open innovation project to accelerate growth in large scale

wood construction.

    Metsa Wood's Open Source Wood initiative is a call to action to architects,

designers and engineers to join forces, share innovation and contribute

knowledge about large-scale, modular wood construction. By creating an open

innovation platform around modular wood construction, Metsa Wood's aim is to

connect the local wood construction industry with global knowledge to

facilitate collaboration and growth.

    To view the Multimedia News Release, please click:

https://www.multivu.com/players/uk/8124651-metsa-wood-launch-open-source-wood

    Today the construction industry is dominated by two materials - steel and

concrete. Only a fraction (5-10%) of global urban construction is wood, due in

part to the fact that the industry is fragmented and local. Wood, however, is

an optimal material for urban construction as it enables faster building

processes; its lightness leads to more affordable structures and it is the most

environmentally friendly building material, battling climate change through

carbon storage

[http://www.metsawood.com/global/news-media/articles/Pages/carbon-storage.aspx

].

    Metsa Wood's Executive Vice President, Esa Kaikkonen, explains: "Not enough

knowledge about modular wood design and building is shared, so wood

construction remains niche. There is plenty of innovation but it is difficult

to find, so Open Source Wood is our solution. We believe that with open

collaboration the industry can achieve significant growth."

    Inspired by open source ideology

    The initiative takes its inspiration from open source ideology, championed

by the software industry, to drive innovation further and faster, and to

increase speed to market.

    Metsa Wood is taking the first step by sharing its own intellectual

property for modular Kerto(R) LVL wood elements, making them available freely

for everyone.

    Metsa Wood to award EUR30,000 in prize money

    Additionally, Metsa Wood will award innovation in modular element design by

offering 30k euro in prize money during 2017 to exceptional designs, submitted

as part of the initiative, using its Kerto LVL material.

    By 2050, approximately 70% of the world's population is expected to live in

urban areas. This means that we need living space for billions. At the same

time, cities contribute to up to 70% of the total greenhouse gas emissions and

we need to fight climate change. One way to fight climate change is to make

construction more sustainable and that's possible when building with wood on a

global scale.

    Eric Karsh, an engineer at Vancouver-based Equilibrium Consulting, adds: "We

fundamentally need to challenge the way we build. Timber technology is now

progressing so fast that knowledge transfer is often the bottleneck. Those of

us who have expertise have a responsibility to share, and the fastest way is an

open source approach promoting knowledge and innovation from all corners of the

world. That's why Metsa Wood is launching the initiative and makes the first

step in giving away knowledge and intellectual property for prefabricated

elements, allowing systematic creativity and efficiency in building."

    Open Source Wood is a continuation of Metsa Wood's project Plan B, launched

in 2015 as an ambitious blueprint to explore the possibilities of using wood in

urban construction.

    Learn more about Open Source Wood and how you can participate:

http://www.metsawood.com/opensourcewood

    Join the initiative.

    Contact: opensourcewood@metsagroup.com

    Images: http://databank.metsagroup.com/l/fnnmZpzcR7j-

    http://www.metsawood.com

    Metsa Wood provides competitive and environmentally friendly wood products

for construction, industrial customers and distributor partners. We manufacture

products from northern wood, a sustainable raw material of premium quality. Our

sales in 2016 were EUR 0.5 billion, and we employ about 1,500 people. Metsa

Wood is part of Metsa Group.

    For more information, please contact:

    Henni Rousu, Communications Manager, Metsa Wood, tel. +358-40-554-8388,

    henni.rousu@metsagroup.com

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

    (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/524797/Metsa_Open_Source_Wood.jpg )

Source: Metsa Wood