Impressive school building in cross laminated timber
04 February 2019The new Sauland school is the first of its kind in the south east of Norway. A reverent building in cross-laminated timber, with beautiful wooden cladding and smart energy solutions. Hjartdal municipality is the first to use cross-laminated timber in a school building in the Telemark region, and they will now lead the way in the green shift within the construction sector.
The school building will house fifth to tenth grade students. The building has six classrooms, including rooms for classes in arts and crafts, science, and music. The school building also has a multipurpose hall that will be used by the school and others in the local community outside of school hours.
The school and the multipurpose hall will give its students an inspirational learning environment and good working conditions for the employees. The use of cross-laminated timber provides an excellent indoor environment and has a positive impact on the health and well-being of its users. Cross-laminated timber in buildings is also a good climate measure. Through photosynthesis, the greenhouse gas CO2 is absorbed in wood, and cross-laminated timber can also replace other more emission intensive building materials. Energy calculations show that energy requirements of Sauland’s new school are close to the passive house standard.
The Municipality of Hjartdal focused on low life cycle costs and smart energy solutions in building their new school. This led them to choose walls in cross-laminated timber covered in a maintenance-free, wooden outercladding. The building benefits from several smart energy solutions, such as heat pumps connected to geothermal wells, which work well even in the cold Norwegian climate.
The new Sauland school is funded by Kommunalbanken. Click here to learn more about financing eco-friendly buildings.
Sources: Miljøkommune.no og fylkesmannen.no