The first sensors began transmitting data as soon as the CLT elements (cross laminated timber) left the factory hall. They recorded changes in relative humidity and temperature, and transmitted the data through an IoT network to a data cloud. The CLT elements were bound for Hyytiälä, a forestry field station of the University of Helsinki’s Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, where they were used to create a new building complex. The location is 50 km northeast of the city of Tampere in Central Finland. Designed for researchers and students, the main building serves as a Living Lab, a platform where research is conducted in real-life conditions. Sensors and technical systems embedded in the building allow researchers to collect information on how spending time in a wooden building affects wellbeing and the living comfort experienced by inhabitants.
Measured data on living comfort
If you ask residents of a wooden apartment block whether they enjoy their homes, they will probably say yes. They may go on to mention indoor air quality, cosiness, a comfortable atmosphere and the good acoustics of wooden apartment blocks. This is already widely known, because the factors came up time after time in living comfort surveys conducted in Finland in the 2000s. What is not known is the exact combination of sources that create positive feelings among residents. Helsinki University expects Hyytiälä Living Lab to provide answers. “The sensors and technical systems in the Living Lab environment will allow us to adjust ventilation, lighting, temperature, and humidity in living-related test conditions. This will help us determine how different factors affect experienced wellbeing and alertness,” says Ritva Toivonen , Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry. In practice, indoor air research involves the measurement of gases. For example, we sense the aroma of wood through fine particles. At Hyytiälä, researchers are interested in questions such as how gas concentrations change in indoor air as the building ages. Toivonen describes the research data obtained from the Living Lab as both unique and socially significant. “It makes a big difference if the buildings we construct promote people’s well- being and alertness.”
Wooden buildings are carbon stores
The new wooden-framed campus, covering 1,400 square metres, includes a main building and a number of smaller buildings linked to it. “We wanted the new facilities to be constructed in line with principles of sus- tainability, and material obviously plays a key role in this. The premises must last for at least 150 years,” says Toivonen. While the campus was being built on a lake shore at Hyytiälä, new homes totalling around 190 million square metres were being built across Europe.* By some estimates, buildings produce a third of greenhouse gas emissions. Using wood can reduce this environmental impact. The Finnish Aalto University
* Source: Cities as carbon sinks—classification of wooden buildings / Amiri, Ottelin, Sorvari and Junnila, 2020
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