A tiny house full of circular economy solutions (odottaa julkaisua)
A tiny house full of circular economy solutions – Zero furniture board was one of the absolute choices
Talo Varjo (“House Shadow”), a tiny house of Matti Kuittinen, professor of sustainable construction at Aalto University, is built with 56% reused and recycled materials, and it points the way to sustainable housing solutions of the future.
At Talo Varjo many circular economy solutions have been made concrete – solutions that can reduce the environmental impact of construction. At the same time, it challenges established practices in building and interior design. Koskisen’s Zero furniture board was used in Talo Varjo’s sliding door solutions.
The climate impact of construction can be reduced with concrete solutions
Talo Varjo, completed in 2024, was designed and prefabricated in Aulis Lundell Oy’s modular production. Leena Lundell, Chair of the Board at Aulis Lundell Oy, says that Zero furniture board was an absolute choice for the sliding doors in the project, and the company plans to continue using it.
“Zero is the word of the day,” Lundell says. “We need to find good products that fit the circular economy because half of the world’s raw materials are used in construction. In addition, the more recycled materials that can be used in construction, the better.”
The climate impacts of construction are significant, so various circular economy solutions and the use of recycled materials may play a major role in new building in the future.
“This needs to become the standard solution. Especially in developed and skilled countries, a complete turnaround should be made,” Kuittinen states.
Zero was found through background research
Aulis Lundell Oy’s Liune sliding door system was chosen for Talo Varjo because it is the perfect solution for creating more living space in small houses. Matti Kuittinen says he found Zero furniture panels for the doors while doing background research.
“I was looking for what kind of wood panels there were and whether there was a suitable material anywhere. Koskisen’s Zero furniture panel was the perfect solution.” At this point, Koskisen’s Zero was still a fairly new solution on the market and had been awarded the winner of the new product competition at the Nordic Wood Fair (Puu 2023) in 2023. In the Zero furniture board, the fossil binder has been replaced with a renewable wood-based binder, lignin. The wood raw materials for the Zero board comes from side streams of Koskisen’s manufacturing processes.
Kuittinen says that he was delighted to find products that take the circular economy into account. He has also studied the issue for a long time in his work and says that the circular economy in wood products has been moderate and weak.
Lundell also praises Koskisen’s product development: “When suppliers develop their products, we get innovations that will help us meet future regulations. Requirements sharpen our senses. Suppliers should consider how things could be developed and done differently.”
More than half of the weight of Talo Varjo is made of recycled materials
Kuittinen says he wanted to test different solutions for living in his exceptional house project. At the beginning of the project, Kuittinen set the goal that more than half of the weight of the house should be recycled. The goal was achieved, as 56% of the weight of the finished house is recycled or material that complies with circular economy solutions.
“If we had used more Zero furniture boards, that amount would have increased even more,” says Kuittinen, who says that he found Zero at a relatively late stage in the project.
Kuittinen’s project proved that a large part of the building materials can be recycled. Kuittinen states that increasing the circular economy and using recycled materials is also a matter of value.
“The situation does not seem hopeless. If change is desired, it is possible. This requires legislative development work and new business models,” says Kuittinen. He also calls for producer responsibility or a product service in which materials would be recycled.
Lundell reminds us that everyone in the construction industry needs to innovate and take responsibility. “We talk about climate change and making choices, but everyone needs to take responsibility for their part. Customers must also demand solutions, otherwise development will not move forward.”
