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the feasibility of the details is tested by constructing thebuildings’ components and erecting the building withtheir own hands.

The ProgrammeOver the last 13 years, the Wood Studio has built 18 dif-ferent models of wooden architecture. The work hasbeen enormous, and has led to the accumulation of avast amount of expertise, knowledge and skills inwooden construction. Wood as an organic material isone of the most challenging building materials andtherefore learning through making plays a central rolein the TKK Department of Architecture WoodProgram. The Wood Studio came out of the establish-ment, in 1995, of a timber architecture professorship,which was established with the purpose of coordinatingthe timber construction teaching in the architecturedepartment and in the laboratory of Wood Technologyand Construction Engineering. As this cooperationdeveloped it was noticed that in the university’s differ-ent departments teaching the use of wood was beinggiven at many levels and that there were possibilities forcooperation with the Technical Research Centre of

Helsinki’s cool wood school

At TKK, the Helsinki technical university, one of Europe’sbest-regarded courses in contemporary timber architecture and design,continues to attract students worldwide. Director Pekka Heikenendescribes what’s in store for those signing up to Wood Studio

Afirst impression for those entering the architec-ture school’s workshop within Helsinki TechnicalUniversity could be that of stepping into an effi-

cient building factory. For instance this summer youwould have found a huge pile of smooth fir board sit-ting on the workshop floor, packed and ready to betransported to the Jyväsjärvi lake shore, close to thecentral Finnish town of Jyväskylä, the former home-town of the best known Finnish architect Alvar Aalto.In one part of the workshop a group of students arehard at work on some last detailing, while the sweatyworkshop foreman looks on.

Behind this busy atmosphere lies the final work ofthe department’s Wood Program. The students are fin-ishing preparation for their project, a Summer Sauna tobe built on the Jyväsjärvi lake shore. The perspiration isbecause the building needs to be ready in time for theMidsummer festivities.

The Sauna project is simulating a flexible industrialtimber construction method. Students have beendesigning structures and preparing for the realisationof the project during the whole spring term, guided bytheir teachers. This is the last phase of the project where

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Finland and other Otawood groups. This opened theway for a training program with the aim of covering thewhole field of timber construction.

The backgroundThe program has developed significantly, with anEnglish-language Wood Program launching in 1999, asan internationalised version of the former WoodStudio. Learning by working with one’s own hands is atthe heart of the programme with one of the main goalsbeing to design and build an innovative wooden build-ing during the one year course. This is supplemented bya multi-faceted year-long teaching package organisedaround the hands-on design and building.

ContentsWood Program’s main themes focus on exploring thearchitectural, technical and ecological properties ofwood. The aim is to become acquainted with the wholelifecycle of wood and to study wood as a traditional, aswell as a modern, building material. The WoodProgram provides a thorough and all-round view of thewhole chain of wood construction, starting from thetree in the forest and ending up with a wooden build-ing or structure.

The Wood Studio works around two main periods.In the autumn, less extensive structures at a scale of 1:1are constructed, and in the spring the students willbuild an entire wooden building. The teaching ofwooden architecture is divided into three parts: lec-tures, design, and workshops with excursions.

The goal of the first period is to demonstrate theconnections between the material and architectonicshape. During the autumn term, students learn how touse wood, and study the key elements of wooden archi-tecture: wooden materials, joints, frames, and cladding.This is quickly followed by design work, with studentsgetting hands-on experience in working with wood.Students also have the right to make mistakes. Everyassignment starts with a short analysis that is intendedto familiarise students with the subject and foster

Top: Sofa Sauna The Teltta Sauna completed during 2002/3 used10 LVL boards, a kilometre of pine shafts and canvas.

Bottom: class of 03 working on the living unit

Left: Forest rester 2001/2's Aitta guest house.Several woods, including larch, aspen, spruce, oakand alder, were applied to make the truss and walls.

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excitement in the practice work carried out in groups.The course ends with a design competition thatchooses the main project of the term: a wooden build-ing or structure built together by the group.

The whole spring term will be taken up by thedesign and construction of the main project. The ideais to study various alternatives more analytically than inconventional architectural design. Architectonic partsof the solution are made by comparing alternativesworked on by groups and choosing the solution thatbest fits the logic of the project. In the future, theimportance of design will be emphasised and an effortwill be made to make building as easy as possible.

Acquainting the students with wood materials andwood construction is divided into three parts. The lec-tures emphasise the theoretical background of woodand acquaintance with timber construction throughdemanding design tasks and a versatile excursion pro-gram. The first lecture series, held jointly at the depart-ment of architecture and in the laboratory of WoodTechnology, outlines the theoretical background.Specialists from various timber construction fields giveguest lectures. The lecture subjects vary between the

biological and technical properties of wood and detailson timber construction. The second part is formed oftutored design studios where students get to know thedetails of timber construction and architectural formsof expression. The subjects of the design task vary andthe tasks are tutored by designers working in timberconstruction.

This way of approaching wood is practical, which isessential during Wood Program’s third semester, wherestudents get acquainted with the use of wood throughexcursions and workshops at the practical level. Theresult is that each year a wooden building or structuregets being designed and materialised through the WoodProgram. Present projects include an ice-cream kioskin the town of Hanko and a marine watch tower by thesea shore in city of Helsinki. Plans for the next yearinclude, among other projects, participation in theSolar Decathlon to design and build an energy-efficientor rather self-sufficient wooden house. During theexcursions students get acquainted with the Finnishforests and the different wood species, the tradition oftimber construction, contemporary architecture andthe Finnish wood industry.

Above: a second 2002/3 Wood school project wasTransformer, opening from a minimal box in winter into abar and cafe kiosk during the summer months, the wallshinged onto the glulaminated timber pillar beam frame.

Left: model making is used extensively within the studiocourse.

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StudentsTeamwork is the most important aspect of WoodProgram. A project always has a main architect, but itshould be possible for all the students to participate inthe development of the project. Work is carried out ingroups and the goal is to create good wooden architec-ture, so the greatest challenge is usually the refining ofideas, rather than adding new ideas.

Within the Wood Program, students learn by doingthings themselves, and they often learn more from eachother than from the teachers. Based on the idea that itis better to learn in groups, lecture series, studies,guided workshops and other theoretical parts that sup-port the hands-on work have been added to the pro-gramme. Collaboration and working together is thebest part of Wood Studio, and at the same timecanprove challenging. If these challenges can be overcome,the project succeeds and everyone can be proud: ‘wehave built a house together!’ This requires the studentsand teachers to be committed to the achievement of acommon goal

Academically the Wood Programme is a one-yeartuition-based non-degree full time program foradvanced students and architects. Architects, engineersand students from different parts of Europe, North andSouth America, Australia and from Asia have allenrolled in the Wood Program. Our aim is to give stu-dents a general introduction to wood as a living organ-ism, to the different uses of wood and concentrate onparticular questions regarding wood. Learning bydoing is central to the teaching process within theWood Studio. It is important to feel the weight of woodwith one’s own hands, how it bends and cracks, whatkind of surface it has and how strong the wood is.Although the time is limited to one year, this one yearat the Wood Studio is an effective and unforgettablelearning experience. Our goal is to offer students anexperience that cannot be gained from books.

We believe the Wood Program opens the door tothe versatile world of the use of timber. We know thatdesign of a wooden building demands competence,skill and artistic sensitivity, and therefore we try toinspire students to go deeply into the essence of woodarchitecture and to continuously study and work withwooden buildings. A wooden building is extremelyhigh tech and in comparison, seen from an architect’spoint of view, construction of a mobile phone, forexample, is as easy as ABC.

FURTHERWood Studio’s Pekka Heikkinen has led the Wood Programsince 1999.For further information about Wood Program seearkkitehtuuri.tkk.fi/engl/woodprog or contact Pekka directon pekka.heikkinen@tkk.fi

Farewellto the localsaw-millDespite the popularity of timber frameconstruction and upsurge of new timberbuildings around the country, the Englishlocal timber economy remains in dire straits,symbolized by the quiet disappearance ofthe local saw mill. Carpenter John Russelldoffs his cap in respect.

‘See-saw Marjorie Daw,Johnny shall have a new master;He shall have but a penny a day,Because he can’t work any faster.’Anon1

This familiar nursery rhyme still sung by many 20thcentury children may be a direct reference to theancient craft of ‘see-sawing’ timbers on trestles

with giant ‘pit’ saws.2, 3 If so, it attests to the significanceof the timber milling industry in the lives of our ances-tors. Sawmills were widespread in the countryside, par-ticularly in the wooded southern English counties. Onecan find many old stationary mill sites scatteredthroughout the villages of Kent, Sussex and Hampshire.They were places of noise and dust and hard labour,where lumber was produced for all manner of domes-tic and industrial uses. From fencing to furniture, froma building’s beams to its floorboards and cladding.Today the UK’s timber industry is in a much dimin-ished state. Approximately eighty five percent of ourtimber is imported.4 Much of this is pulpy softwoodbought in the Baltic, America and increasingly fromEastern Europe. Not only is this economically trouble-some since it represents a colossal percentage of theUK’s balance of payments deficit, but in addition thereare concerns about the importation of timber particu-larly hardwoods from unsustainable sources.5, 6

For many years, probably from after the end of theWorld War 1 onwards, the number of hardwood millsin the UK has been in decline. Whilst the ForestryCommission has been surveying biennially the numberof UK mills since 1996, the exact extent of this declineover the decades is not entirely clear.7 I was recentlytold by a local miller that in 1953 there were in what is