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Xamk Industrial Wood Construction and Technical Testing Laboratory

Reference

Project details

  • Facts

    Address: Vipusenkatu 9, 57200 Savonlinna. Area: 2,561 m². Architectural design: Arkkitehtitoimisto Heikki Kirjalainen Oy. Client: South Savon Campus Properties (ESAKK).

  • What we did

    Rejlers prepared the HVAC and automation design for the new building and conducted a review in accordance with the method for the whole life carbon assessment of buildings, including climate studies, as part of lifecycle planning.

  • Highlight

    The carbon assessment reveals the building’s lifecycle emissions and provides an overview of the building’s environmental impact. This drives more responsible construction, makes investments sustainable, and provides the means to reach the carbon neutrality goals.

South Savo Campus Properties, a local government regional authority, commissioned the construction of an industrial wood construction and testing laboratory for Xamk in Savonlinna. Rejlers worked as an HVAC and automation designer on the project. It also examined the building’s lifecycle environmental impact.  

Aiming for healthy and safe premises 

The industrial wood construction laboratory develops and tests wood structures on an industrial scale with appropriate development and testing equipment. The design of the building aimed to provide healthy and safe premises for the tenants. The laboratory and office spaces were built to the highest indoor air standard, S1, which affected the technical building services. The structures used as much wood as possible.  

The climate impacts of the building’s various elements and lifecycle phases were studied according to the scope of the Ministry of the Environment’s method for the whole life carbon assessment of buildings. Assessment under this method will become compulsory for all new buildings in 2025 as part of a reform of the construction legislation. The report confirmed that the laboratory’s design solutions bring it very close to the proposed low carbon threshold. 

Highlights

  • The carbon assessment reveals the building’s lifecycle emissions and provides an overview of the building’s environmental impact. This drives more responsible construction, makes investments sustainable, and provides the means to reach the carbon neutrality goals. 
  • According to the report, the laboratory’s emissions over 50 years will be 16.3 kg CO2e/m2/a. The heavy use of timber in the structures and efficient technical building services will reduce the building’s emissions—they brought the project very close to the proposed threshold (16.0 kg CO2e/m2/a). 
  • The technical building services will account for approximately 25% of the project’s material emissions. Using demand-controlled building services and other technical solutions can reduce the emissions of a project. 
  • Wise lifecycle design leads to demand-controlled solutions and efficient systems to rein in emissions and costs. This also optimises maintenance costs and maximises user comfort.

Images: by Arkkitehtitoimisto Heikki Kirjalainen Oy.

Get in touch

Have a question?

Asko Laune Head of Buildings, Finland