The sustainable and innovative wooden modular construction with its extremely short construction time aided the decision to build 32 wooden schools by 2025 in Berlin. First 6 schools have been successfully built and new schools are under construction by The Senate Department for Urban Development & Housing. Metsä Wood’s Kerto® LVL beams are used for offsite production.
Modular wood construction – fast and economical construction method
Wooden modular construction has experienced an extreme boom in recent years. The main reasons for this are increased sustainability requirements and cost-effectiveness of prefabricated wood-based modules. The City of Berlin wants to establish itself as one of the world's major metropolises for wood construction. Currently, three-storey wooden schools are being built in Berlin by Austrian prefabrication constructor Kaufmann Bausysteme (KBS). "6 schools have already been built and a total of 32 schools are to be built by 2025. The speed of the offsite construction method was a decisive factor. With the prefabricated wooden modules, the construction time can be halved," explains Sebastian Hagspiel from Kaufmann Bausysteme.
A lightweight high-performance GLVL wood beam is an alternative to steel
One school consists of nearly 100 modules, each 3-m wide and 8-m long. All modules were prefabricated offsite and assembled on the construction site. To achieve a column-free floor plan for classrooms, 8-m long beams had to be used at the joint of the modules.
"For structural reasons, glulam was not suitable for this project. Steel beams were also not a solution for us or the architects," describes Sebastian Hagspiel, Project Manager at Kaufmann Bausysteme. The structural designers finally decided to use beams made of the high-performance and easy-to-process GLVL (Glued laminated veneer lumber).
Kerto GLVL for long-span beams
The GLVL was manufactured by Holzwerke Bullinger using Metsä Wood’s Kerto LVL. Ingo Faller from Bullinger’s sales department describes the process as efficient: "We have updated our standard glulam process so that we can use LVL beams. The GLVL beams have a high bending strength. In the GLVL process, laminated veneer lumber (LVL) beams are glued together. LVL is uniform in quality and therefore has an extremely high static load-bearing capacity. As a result, GLVL beams have a much higher flexural strength. Interestingly, LVL is stronger in strength-to-weight ratio than steel.”
Media images: https://databank.metsagroup.com/l/c6nvncjSs2c9
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For more information, please contact:
Henni Rousu, Communications Manager, Metsä Wood
tel. +358 40 554 8388, henni.rousu@metsagroup.com