Join the initiative

Metsä Wood is calling on all architects and engineers to share their innovations in wood construction. Open Source Wood initiative is a pioneering open innovation project aimed at facilitating knowledge sharing and growth in modular wood construction.

The only way to make construction more sustainable is by building with wood on a global scale. The world needs a Plan B.

Wood is a carbon-storing, renewable and strong construction material, yet it accounts only for a very small fraction of global construction. The wood construction industry is fragmented and local, while the construction business is dominated by two less environmentally-friendly construction materials – steel and concrete.

A successful future demands a fundamental reinvention and rethinking of how we build with wood – by developing prefabricated elements. We need to build faster, more affordably, more efficiently and more openly. That’s why we launched the Open Source Wood Initiative.

As the modular wood construction industry grows – everybody wins.

Most innovation in our sector today goes largely unacknowledged beyond its locality.

By sharing your innovations and insights with your fellow modular wood experts around the world you can build a reputation for yourself internationally, and you’ll also benefit from advice and reviews of your work by our platform’s an expert panel.  The Open Source Wood initiative also offers the chance to efficiently collaborate with your peers – wherever they are.

We are committed to working with architects who use innovative modular wood elements for building design – giving selected professionals like yourself the chance to move their designs from your desktop to actual projects.

Metsä Wood Awards

Metsä Wood is rewarding innovative element and modular designs. These awards are typically 5 000 or 10 000 €.

Criteria – Fast, Light, Green

Building element / module using Kerto® LVL (laminated veneer lumber) products as a major component:

• Fast: The design enables fast building processes
• Light: The design is light weight
• Green: The design improves the CO₂ balance of building.

The winners so far are:

• Maskerade, offsite manufactured wood elements designed by Maarten van der Breggen,
• Cliphut, modular building system designed by Thomaz Vieira, Tomas Mena and Maria Wilkens,
• Kokoon, pre-fabricated and transportable housing modules designed by Aalto University’s Wood Program Studio

​​​Designs for modular building elements can be submitted. The element design must be (at minimum) 50% from wood. The submission must be a file size of 5MB or less. For more detailed information read the Q&A​

The submitted designs are uploaded in the web service called opensourcewood.com to be launched later by Metsäliitto Cooperative (Metsä Wood). The use of the service is subject to the Terms of Use available at here and you agree that  the Terms of Use apply to your designs whether or not you use the service. Especially,  you agree to license the designs under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.

Before sending your element please read the Terms of Use. By pressing the send button you will accept them. 

Share your desings at www.opensourcewood.com