The project has already been called "visionary". The prestigious firm C.F. Møller Architects has designed an entire eco-district in Sweden essentially based on wooden architecture. It has nothing to do with the latest projects based on wood, such as the 12 floors and 40 metre-high Framework in Portland, or the Oakwood Tower which will be built in London and could reach even 300 m.

In contrast to the admirers of Glulam and CLT, the Danish architects will not be chasing new vertical records. The challenge is rather to demonstrate the possibility of using wood in urban areas extensively. 

The Örnsro Trastad ("wooden town of Örnsro") has been devised for the centre of Örebro in Sweden. The project aims to show that the use of a renewable material such as wood can reduce energy consumption and improve the overall ecological footprint of the city. The eco-district is planned to have purely residential use and will be widely integrated with the surrounding flora as much as with the adjacent Ängen public park.

The project covers an area of ​​18 thousand square meters and provides accommodation units, squares and other facilities for the social life of the neighborhood. The buildings will be constructed with solid-engineered wood structures of different heights, in order to make attractive the overall design. Residents will be able to walk or ride through the neighborhood along a street connecting the different corners of the neighborhood with existing paths on the riverside.

I the C.F. Møller’s scheme residential buildings are set within an adjacent park that includes a variety of activities and plazas for social meetings and recreation. As timber is a renewable material, with low energy consumption and a limited carbon footprint, the scheme is beneficial from a sustainability perspective, thus, solid timber framed structures contribute to the overall lifecycle of the project. The plan includes several apartment buildings of varying heights, while an pedestrian active route connects to the existing promenade.

"We want to create an inclusive neighborhood, where urban and social qualities interact with the organic structures of the park – says Ola Jonsson study of CF Møller -. For us it is an obvious choice to focus on solid wood for the structure as well as for the facades. In addition to contributing positively to the environment, the use of wood in architecture offers us new opportunities to create innovative and rich-in-value designs”.

Project info:

location: örnsro, örebro, sweden
architect: C.F. Møller
client: slättö förvaltning AB
site: approx. 18,000 sqm
year: 2016