Timber iQ August - September 2019 // Issue:45 | Page 6

NEWS
The Swedish Wood
pavilion at the UN-Habitat
Assembly which took place
in Kenya.
Wood construction takes
centre stage at UN conference
Swedish wood construction was
a key point on the agenda at
the first UN-Habitat Assembly,
which focused on innovations in
sustainable development.
O
ne seminar at the conference, which was held in
Nairobi, Kenya from 27 to 31 May, stressed the global
importance of beginning to ‘grow our cities’.
The seminar on sustainable urban development was
attended by state secretary Elin Olsson; minister counsellor
Michael Hjelmåker from the Swedish Embassy in Kenya; Klas
Groth from UN-Habitat in Nairobi; Sandra Frank from Arvet;
and Jörgen Hermansson from Södra Building System. Tove
Dumon Wallsten of Architects Sweden led the discussion that
was held in the Swedish Wood pavilion, designed by
architectural firm In Praise of Shadows, which was represented
at the event by Katarina Lundeberg.
“There’s a huge need globally to transition to sustainable
cities and Sweden’s knowledge of modern wood construction,
combined with sustainable forestry, can drive this
transformation. The Swedish forest and wood industry offers
technical, economic and sustainable solution for future cities,”
stated Jörgen Hermansson, head of Södra Building Systems,
who represented Swedish Wood in Nairobi.
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AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2019 //
The theme of this year’s assembly was Agenda 2030, which fits
in well with UN-Habitat’s ambition ‘For a better urban future’.
According to the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC), the construction industry currently accounts for
40% of global carbon emissions. The discussions about
sustainable construction were therefore an important part of
the agenda.
Wooden housing developer Arvet presented an exhibition
on how wood construction meets all of the UN’s 17
Sustainable Development Goals, with sustainable forestry and
the expertise of the Swedish wood industry as core factors.
Architects Sweden, in partnership with the Swedish Institute
and the Swedish Embassy, also unveiled ‘Woodland Sweden’
– an exhibition about the know-how that Swedish architects
possess with regard to designing wooden buildings and
sustainable societies of the future.
“Sweden has amassed a great deal of experience and
knowledge about modern wood construction. Building cities
in wood – literally growing our cities – offers a sustainable
solution to challenges such as housing supply, climate
change, employment and urbanisation,” says Susanne
Rudenstam, head of the Swedish Wood Building Council.
From the Swedish Embassy in Kenya, state secretary Elin
Olsson later posted the assembly’s message on social media,
writing that the development of cities and communities needs
to take account of site-specific conditions and place people at
the centre of decisions. She also stated that it is possible to
solve several challenges at the same time and that Goal 11 of
the 2030 Agenda, sustainable cities and communities, can and
must be linked up with other global sustainability goals.
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