In Scandinavia, wood has traditionally been used for its availability as well as for its beauty. Now, wood is chosen as much for its aesthetic and environmental properties. And the rise of new timber materials and engineering have greatly expanded the scope of its usage.
During the years when timber fell out of favour as a main building material, Danish and Scandinavian architects continued to embrace wood as a key interior material, drawing on both tradition and contemporary design ideals. In homes, offices and public buildings, wood has consistently been used for floors, ceilings, wall cladding and built-in furniture, often paired with clean lines and light surfaces to create calm, functional spaces.
Wood’s natural warmth and texture help soften the minimalist interiors typical of Scandinavian design, adding a sense of tactility that metals or synthetics do not have. Also, the acoustic properties reduce noise and echo – a particularly important point in large spaces and open-plan environments.
Left: Guest House No. 16. Right: Heatherhill Beach House. Both projects by Norm Architects.
After some years of being used mainly for interiors and holiday residences by Danish architects, something new has happened over the past two decades: wood has re-emerged as a preferred building material – this time supported by modern engineering and new environmental priorities. Family homes are once again built out of wood in Denmark, now mostly in a decidedly modern style characterised by stringent, straight lines. Even more notably, engineered products like cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glulam have greatly expanded the scope of how high and how efficiently architects can build with wood, even in dense city environments such as Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo.
Today, wood is not only seen as a nod to Nordic heritage but also as a key component in future-focused building strategies. Timber has a lower carbon footprint than concrete, lends itself to off-site prefabrication, and performs well in energy-efficient designs. Governments across the region actively promote timber construction through sustainability targets and updated building codes.
Having moved on from traditional farmhouses to contemporary multi-storey housing, the Nordic wooden building tradition continues to evolve. We have found some examples we think might interest you.
Reaching new heights in timber
First off, let us turn to the tallest all-timber building in the world: Mjøstårnet. Rising above Lake Mjøsa, north of Oslo, it stands 85.4 metres high, making it a global landmark in sustainable architecture. The 18-storey structure is made almost entirely from wood, using modern versions of the material to create the structural strength required for this architectural feat: glulam columns and beams combined with cross-laminated timber panels, and Norwegian spruce sourced from nearby forests.
Designed by Voll Arkitekter, Mjøstårnet combines many functions: it contains flats, a hotel, offices, and a restaurant. Today, the building serves as an inspiring example of how engineering innovation has made it possible to quite literally take wood to new heights.
A building with a past and a purpose
The tallest timber building in Denmark is named after its main building material: TRÆ means ‘wood’ in Danish. Designed as an office building, TRÆ is a pioneering project that set out to reimagine how we use resources in modern construction. Built from wood, concrete and glass, TRÆ furthermore incorporates a range of reclaimed materials, including discarded wind turbine blades transformed into solar shades, reused façade panels, timber, and double-glazed windows. It also uses factory leftovers, elements from renovation projects, and materials rejected due to minor flaws. All these elements have been given a new lease of life, reducing waste. And each part has been rigorously tested to meet present-day building standards, proving that reuse, practicality and quality can go hand in hand.
Concerning the choice of wood as the mainstay of the building, Anders Lendager, architect and CEO of Lendager Group, the studio behind TRÆ, says: ‘One of the most important things about building in wood is that we can store CO₂ – something we urgently need to do if we want to build sustainably.’
Part of the project’s ambition was to share the lessons learned along the way: TRÆ has served as a living lab, testing experimental solutions and publishing the findings in two publicly available reports. That way, architects around the world can benefit from their insights and fast-track their own processes.
Turning timber into theatre
Once you step inside, the wood takes on another starring role. The oak lining is made from thousands of carefully shaped boards, cut with computer-guided precision to create a continuous flow. What is more, the use of wood improves the acoustics in the vast foyer by softening echoes. The black service façades recede within the overall scheme, letting the timber take centre stage.
Beyond the foyer lie four venues: a concert hall for 1,200, a theatre and opera room for about 700, a flexible multi-purpose hall with a level floor and a smaller stage for experimental work. The choice of oak nods to Kristiansand’s seventeenth-century trade in timber, but this building is not about nostalgia. Rather, Kilden shows how contemporary craft can carry local memory into a confident future. The result is an award-winning landmark that greets ferry passengers by day and glows across the harbour by night, its wooden wave ready to greet the arriving audience.
