Vertical wood: Sustainable re-building in Ukraine

Tommi Tuomi
CEO
Vertical Wood Finland Oy
Finland

tee.tuomi@gmail.com

The reconstruction of Ukraine is a common European challenge. The task is enormous and will require cooperation across the borders, between local communities, companies and political decision-makers. One of the priorities is to rebuild the houses, roads, and other critical infrastructure destroyed by Russia. Even if the war is still ongoing, and the scale of the required financing for reconstruction is unknown, it is time to think about the future and joint efforts of rebuilding homes for Ukrainians.

To seize the opportunity, now is the time to think how Finnish companies and the Ukrainians forced to flee the war, and those still living there, could participate in the re-building of the country. At best, we could build a model that would support people’s employment in Finland and in Ukraine, and at the same time, give the opportunity to do something concrete for the country. A good example could be construction companies e.g. Vertical Wood construction. The home made by Vertical Wood company would be assembled in Finland by local Finnish and Ukrainian workers and erected in Ukraine with the help of local labor. This kind of model would have numerous favorable effects in both human and financial terms.

Although there is an urgent need for protection and humane conditions for those who have lost everything, it is also vital to pay attention to environmentally friendly and long-lasting solutions that emphasize the use of renewable materials, sustainability, cost-effectiveness and quality of living. All of these criteria are met when wood is used in construction. Wood has been proven to be an excellent building material and make buildings last for decades. Finland is a pioneer in the wood construction industry with high quality, innovative and up-to-date solutions.

The Vertical Wood construction is an excellent option for rebuilding of Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure. It is a fact that building from vertical wood is fast and easy, but it is also cost-effective, environmentally friendly and scalable. This means that the building will not be a temporary solution even though initially built as emergency accommodation. Potential for easy future expansion makes the vertical wood building completely unique. It can be easily expanded if the emergency shelter built is to be expanded to a family home in a few years.

The reconstruction of Ukraine must be seen as a task for the whole world. It is a huge challenge for political parties, countries, alliances, companies, people, humanity and financial enablers. But it is still a joint effort where everyone is needed and also the micro businesses shall have an important role. Environmentally friendly, cost-effective and scalable Vertical Wood construction method takes our know-how forward to the world and also contributes to the growth of Finnish and Ukrainian economy. All in all, we have a unique opportunity to build new networks that are critical for sharing best practices and knowledge required for rebuilding of Ukraine and helping those in the greatest need.

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