The first PEFC-certified multistorey wooden block of flats in the Nordic countries has been built in Pruukinranta in Seinäjoki. Its name also comes from wood; “mäihä” means cambium, the layer beneath the outer bark of woody plants.
The certification guarantees that wood products used for the Mäihä wooden block of flats come from sustainably managed forests. Mäihä is a solid wooden block of flats realised by Lakea Oy in Pruukinranta in Seinäjoki. Mäihä combines innovation with respect for traditional wood construction. Wood has also given the building its name. “Mäihä” means cambium, the layer beneath the outer bark of woody plants. In colloquial language, “mäihä” is also a synonym for luck and fortune. Residents’ good fortune is guarded by a tree in the yard that in Finnish folklore was thought of as a gateway to the spiritual world. In this case the tree is a rowan.
The building is composed of spatial modules, which are made of solid wood cross-laminated timber board (CLT) using spatial element construction technology in dry, even construction conditions. An application has been made for a PEFC certificate for the Mäihä wooden block of flats, the first such site in the Nordic countries to receive the certificate, which demonstrates support for a socially and economically sustainable forestry industry and the use of certified wood raw materials.
Wood is present in the building in diverse ways; outside, in the stairwells and in the flats themselves. In the main entryway residents are welcomed by a wood panel wall created using a new graphic wood technology, with illustrative themes that spring from nature and preservation. The facade of the wooden block of flats gets its colour from dark bark. Entrances and the flats’ outdoor spaces have warm, reddish wood boards. A light, transparent shade of wood and a lively surface pattern are visible in the flats’ ceilings, floors and frames of glass walls. Through tall windows starting at floor level, the flats open out onto views of the verdant Pruukinranta area. In the larger flats, roomy, glass-enclosed outdoor spaces with a wooden structure add to the flats’ usability. Sliding glass doors connect the flats’ indoor and outdoor living areas to form a seamless whole.