Sustainable rentals

Valla Berså in Linköping, Sweden by Winell Jern arkitekter

Linköping will soon be gaining its first apartment block made from CLT. Local developer Lindstén Fastigheter is erecting a five-storey building in Vallastaden with 69 rental apartments of varying sizes. At almost twice as many as the original plan for rectangular volumes was going to provide, this figure was made possible because of the almost closed circle design. The ambition behind Valla Berså is to show that apartment blocks can be built in wood, embrace exciting architecture and be sustainable.

In fact sustainability is the defining feature of the new building. It has to live up to the standards required from an NZEB or “nearly zero-energy building”, which include an energy requirement of less than 55 kWh per square metre per year. Valla Berså is also set to be awarded Silver under the Swedish Miljöbyggnad (Eco-building) certification system, with material choices certified by Sunda Hus (Healthy Houses). The building uses 1,800 cubic metres of wood, which represents 1,440 tonnes of captured carbon. The rooms will have ash wood flooring to further enhance the sense of wood. The building will also be fitted with solar panels and the entire site, including the inner courtyard, will be a non-smoking area.

Readmore at winelljern.se

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