High-tech smart houses have taken center stage in recent years’ premium architectural styles, which have embraced elements like glass and exposed brick. But Sweden, the current darling of international fashion, is where the newest modern architecture style originated. And the emphasis on this one is more organic.

What’s the trend?

In Sweden, wood has long been a popular building material for individual residences, vacation homes, and smaller towns and villages. This tendency therefore represents a deliberate and intentional move backward rather than a forward leap. It appears that wooden structures are once again on the increase.

Wood is being used more and more in high-rise residential construction, which is the newest trend in the field of architecture. The most talked-about recent construction in this perspective is the apartment building called Strandparken in Sundbyberg, Stockholm, created by the architectural company Wingardh Arkitektkontor.

What makes wood so great?

Wood is a renewable resource, and it gains attractiveness when used to build structures from sustainable forests. It’s unquestionably a material that the Swedes have a lot of when it comes to Swedish building. According to Mr. Arne Olsson, CEO of Folkhem, it will revolutionize the construction sector.

Because it is softer, drilling and sawing produce less noise during construction, he says. Wood also requires little upkeep and matures gracefully, unlike other construction materials.

What about modern technology?

Since the time of the Vikings, wood has been used to construct structures throughout Europe. Only because of its propensity to catch fire did wood become disliked, but that problem has been solved by technology.

The fire risk was reduced when cross-laminated wood (CLT) was invented in Europe to replace concrete blocks. CLT is made by pressure-gluing several layers of timber together perpendicularly. This particular style of wooden building is exceptionally sturdy and just chars on the surface rather than burning completely through.

 Where will wood go next?

Some architects believe that wood is the material of the future. Some caution that load-bearing difficulties must be taken into account and that occasionally concrete and other materials will prove to be more effective if wooden buildings continue to expand. Regulations for building and safety must also be carefully considered.

Despite this, wood architecture is advancing. With initiatives like the sports hall at Nanyang Technological University with its arching, pillar-free roof constructed of bonded laminated timber, tropical nations like Singapore are investigating possibilities.

Two further instances of wooden structures that are common in architecture are Treet, a 14-story wooden apartment building in Bergen, and another ten-story apartment in Melbourne, Australia. Folkhem is eager to get started right now on their remaining 18 wooden construction projects.