STOCKHOLM In your hand is a brand new magazine, and although the name may be the same, the content is new. The following pages contain examples of ingenious, sustainable and exciting architecture from around the world. You’ll get to meet architects and designers who think in new ways, challenging old ideas and creating new traditions.
We are writing this in a time of turbulence and concern for the future of the economy. It is also a time of major challenges in dealing with the climate change threat, but also other key issues such as future energy supply. All these matters have a considerable direct or indirect bearing on the construction industry, since construction and building activities represent a huge part of the economy.
We all have a responsibility to help ensure sustainable development. In ways large and small, our active choices and actions can make a positive contribution towards a necessary change. A great deal rests on being able to combine different experiences and knowledge to create better functions and more sustainable solutions – but above all to share and embrace new thinking and ideas.
I am the new director of Swedish Wood. My task is to expand the market for wood, with a core focus on construction, to help improve the competitiveness of our members and to communicate the way increased use of wood can benefit the climate. Through this magazine, Swedish Wood seeks to present examples of wood’s endless opportunities and to inform the readership about its competitiveness, eco-friendliness and sustainability advantages. The ambition is to inspire you to develop new, beautiful, sustainable and functional buildings.
Sweden’s Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland, which were recently inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list, are a prime example of how, through the ages, we have created attractive, functional and resource-efficient built environments. Founded in the renewable material of the forest, we can and will take wooden construction to a whole new level.
Sweden’s wood industry is driven by curiosity and development. With ever improving products and functions, we can continue to expand the market and add value for customers and for the industry.
