Forest Can be Felt Everywhere in Stora Enso’s Head Office

Stora Enso’s new head office, Katajanokan Laituri, is a strong example of modern sustainable forestry in practice.

The building shows what can be achieved with wood and sustainable forest management. It brings together urban working life, nature, and well-being in one place. Built from responsibly sourced timber, the structure also stores carbon dioxide throughout its lifetime.

Katajanokan Laituri shows what can be achieved with wood and sustainable forest management: a marvel of wooden architecture where modern, urban work life meets nature, well-being, and the renewability of the forest. Built with responsibly sourced timber, the wooden structure will store carbon dioxide throughout its lifetime. 

Katajanokan Laituri is owned by the Finnish pension insurance company Varma. In addition to Stora Enso’s offices, the building also includes a hotel, a restaurant, and a café. Designed by Anttinen Oiva Architects, the building makes the presence of wood and forest visible everywhere – from the ground floor to the rooftop. Wooden surfaces are clearly visible throughout the interior, highlighting their natural origin. The rooftop includes plants and deadwood to support biodiversity in the city.

The building is made from PEFC-certified spruce from Finland and Sweden, sourced both from Stora Enso’s own forests and other forest owners. Trees used for timber are usually harvested after 60 to 100 years. Stora Enso follows the principles of sustainable forestry and promotes certifications which set certain environmental, social, and economic requirements – such as preserving deadwood, living trees, buffer zones around waters, and other forest structures in harvesting.

In addition, Stora Enso supports biodiversity through its own management actions and tracks performance using biodiversity indicators. After trees are harvested, new seedlings are planted to ensure forests grow back. 

The wood used in the building is a renewable material, and each part of the tree is used as efficiently as possible. For instance, timber is sawn and manufactured from the trunk of the tree. Katajanokan Laituri contains around 7,600 cubic metres of massive timber, constructed with both LVL beams and columns (laminated veneer lumber) and CLT walls, floors and roofs (cross laminated timber).

Trees naturally absorb carbon dioxide as they grow. The 6,000 tonnes of CO₂ bound by the harvested trees are now stored in the walls and floors of Katajanokan Laituri, which is designed to last at least 100 years. At the same time, new trees continue to grow in the forest. For comparison, the building’s heating, cooling, and other operations will produce the same amount of CO₂ in about 50 years.

Using wood in construction has two main benefits: it stores carbon and replaces materials like concrete and steel, which have higher emissions. The longer the wood is used, the longer the carbon stays locked inside it. At the same time, the material brings a natural feel into the city environment.
 

Photo: ©Stora Enso
 

Photo: Stora Enso/©Kalle Kouhia

 
Photo: Stora Enso/©Kalle Kouhia