'PUU-BO' by BIG

BIG's project E2 Ecology and Economy, receive 1st Prize in a prequalified competition in Finland. 

FROM CONCRETE TO WOOD

Corbusiers DOMI-NO system was developed to industrialize construction with the new technologies of concrete structures at the time, and bring qualitative space to the masses. Today we face different challenges that call for new solutions.

The vast majority of construction in forest rich Finland utilizes concrete. PUU-BO presents an alternative for the construction industry: to build new sustainable structures with wood. We address the growing demand for energy efficient, low carbon structures with an ever-evolving building system that is both competitive and innovative.

PUU-BO is a comprehensive prefabricated solution that is both more flexible and materially efficient than anything else on the market today. It is a system based not on predefined, standard elements but best practices. As such, it is designed for evolution. PUU-BO is engineered to be adaptable across a range of typologies and building uses – the very same elements could be used in both a 2-storey residential house and a wood skyscraper with no loss in material efficiency!

An 8-storey low-energy pilot project is planned in the Finnish city of Kouvola, on the banks of the river Kymi. It is expected to be built in 3 phases, giving us the opportunity to evaluate and improve the system from phase-to-phase in an iterative process. Simultaneous product development, testing, and other efforts are to be pursued with the relevant stakeholders.