Stockholm Wood City: See photos of Sweden’s new sustainable development

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A new section of Stockholm is set to feature offices and homes made of wood.
Atrium Ljungberg/Henning Larsen

  • Developers in Stockholm announced a project with offices and homes made of wood.
  • The developers said the project would be the world’s largest wooden city.
  • They hope that by using wood they can construct a more sustainable neighborhood.

A housing-and-office project planned for a section of Stockholm would be the world’s largest “wooden city,” its developer said.

The developer, Atrium Ljungberg, said in June that the Stockholm Wood City project would total more than 250,000 square meters — some 2.7 million square feet — and include 7,000 office spaces and 2,000 homes.

Here are renderings of what the project is expected to look like.

The development is planned for Sickla, in southern Stockholm.
Atrium Ljungberg/Henning Larsen

There is an emerging trend of architechts turning to “mass timber” to build high-rises and other buildings. The material is similar in strength to steel and concrete, and its advocates argue wood is more environmentally friendly.

Several studies show that substituting mass timber for steel and concrete can decrease greenhouse gas emissions by up to 26.5%. But using more wood also raises questions about the impact on forests, which store carbon dioxide and sustain the livelihoods of many communities, according to researchers. There is disagreement over whether forests are most effective in reducing carbon emissions when left alone, or managed sustainably and harvested for wood production. 

Atrium Ljungberg said studies show that wooden buildings “provide better air quality, reduce stress, increase productivity and store carbon dioxide” while they’re in use.

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