Construction of Hasle Tre is progressing faster than expected

If you want to see the office building of the future rise in Hasle, you'll have to hurry. The construction of the 3,000 square meter solid wood building HasleTre is progressing even faster than expected

Seltor is the proud contractor on the Hasle Tre project in Oslo.

Article from https://hoegheiendom.no/aktuelt?article=derfor-reiser-dette-bygget-seg-i-rekordfart

HasleTre is the first wooden building in Höegh Eiendom's portfolio. With reuse as the most important guideline in the project, plans have already been made for how the building can be dismantled and reused at some point in the future.

- "We've finished the work we're familiar with, such as excavation, foundations and casting the basement, so now it's a wooden construction kit with prefabricated elements that are being hoisted and installed. It goes very quickly, much faster than what we are used to from traditional projects," says Atle Sundby, Project Director at Höegh Eiendom.

- This has been an even more fun process than we thought. We're the first in the Nordic region to assemble a solid wood building with wooden dowels and wooden components. It's fun to be innovative and see that we can achieve something, and people are very engaged in what we're doing," says Sundby.

The four-storey wooden building at the main entrance to Vinslottet in Hasle will house outreach activities on the ground floor and space-efficient office space on the floors above. The offices are already fully let to Save the Children, while there is one vacant space left on the ground floor of approximately 200 square meters.

First in the Nordic region

The client, contractor and architect have observed many curious glances from passers-by on Hasle, as well as from neighbors in the apartments, restaurants and office buildings around. Many stop and take pictures, and the students at Wang Ung in the neighboring building are also curiously watching.

- "It's great to see that the building is finally being realized and that it's going so fast. It's a very detailed and precise building kit that has been delivered, and construction is going faster than the fitters had planned," says architect and partner Jørgen Tycho in OsloTre.

- We have stretched our knowledge to the limit, because there are no reference projects. We have introduced some new solutions, including using fewer screws than usual. All fasteners are wood-to-wood connections, and we are the first in the Nordic region to use a system of dovetails made of plywood that are knocked into the wooden elements and lock the structures. These can only be pulled straight out when the building is dismantled at some point in the future. This is the next generation of wooden buildings, but we use ancient techniques adapted to modern, industrial production," says Tycho.

Project Manager Peter Persson at Seltor also notices that there is great enthusiasm for the building.

- "There's a great atmosphere on the construction site. From the barracks, we can also see that people passing by on the street stop and look at the building, and that enthusiasm rubs off on those of us who work here," he says.

- The architects have done a great job. There's a lot of new thinking, with a focus on wood, reuse and recycling. If you've been in the industry as long as I have, this is really fun, because it's a slightly different way of thinking," says Persson.

Minimal waste

Ola Marius Pedersen is project manager at KPP and client representative for HasleTre. He also feels that there is something unique about the solid wood building at Hasle.

- "We've been working on this project for well over a year already, and we've been looking forward to seeing the shell of the building rise. When you're used to seeing steel and concrete, it's completely different to see a wooden building rise. It's quiet, tidy and neat on the construction site, and everything seems warmer because warmer materials are used," says Pedersen.

- We have many environmental requirements - as much as possible should be reusable and demountable. We therefore work continuously to source reused building elements, such as ventilation units, doors and soundproofing elements from used ceiling panels. And because everything is prefabricated, we avoid shrinkage, cutting and waste," says Pedersen.

Natural sound damping

Although Persson and Seltor have built in solid wood before, the methods used at HasleTre are completely new.

- "When we stack the parts together and assemble them with wooden dowels, there's not so much noise. On a construction site, there are usually a lot of loud noises, but here all the noise of spiking concrete and so on is gone. It also makes you happy to see wood - it gives a very nice impression," says Persson, and is supported by the architect:

- One advantage of a wooden building site is that it's lightning fast and there's little noise. There's no metal, concrete or drilling - it's like a silent construction kit. But the best thing is that it smells absolutely wonderful!" says Tycho, who praises Höegh Eiendom's willingness to invest in a groundbreaking building like HasleTre.

- It's bold and forward-looking. We believe this is how we need to build in the future - both with biological materials and with reuse in mind. It's fantastic that they are investing in this, and we've had a very good collaboration so far," says the architect.