Växjö, Sweden 23rd October

The Open Source Wood Hackathon on October 23 attracted close to thirty architects, researchers, students and wood industry representatives to compete.

The event was initiated by Metsä Wood and organised at Linnaeus University in Växjö, Sweden, in cooperation with the departments of building technology and mechanical engineering, the Smart Housing Småland innovation environment – that work with construction and housing in wood and glass – and Växjö Municipality, one of Europe’s leading municipalities in wood construction. It was the third time Metsä Wood arranged a hackathon and the first time in Sweden.

The challenge was to design a building with laminated veneer lumber as a major structural material. The building was to be located at an existing site in Växjö. It should be modular, built off-site and assembled on-site, easy to modify according to use, and also (preferably) relocatable.

Hackathon is an event of creative problem solving. In Open Source Wood hackathons, people come together to solve a challenge in groups of about 5 individuals, and dive into a challenge. Each event has its own unique challenge

Open Source Wood is an open ideas platform to foster modular wood construction. Open source in wood construction fosters innovation and increases knowledge.

Currently, not nearly enough knowledge about modular wood design and building is shared. There is plenty of innovation, but it’s often not so easy to find. By sharing our best ideas and solutions openly we will deliver significantly increased growth. All shared elements are licensed CC BY 4.0. Open Source Wood has been initiated by Metsä Wood.