Trondheim student housing provides a lesson in Kebony

A student apartment block in Trondheim, Norway, is expected to become Europe’s largest cross-laminated timber (CLT) structure when it is completed later this year.

Construction of Moholt 50|50, as the scheme is called, is expected to be completed by December 2016 and consists of five blocks housing up to 632 students at the Norwegian University of Science & Technology.

In addition to its CLT main structure, the scheme has been given sustainable Kebony facade.

The project is intended to demonstrate that good architecture can create a sense of place and of belonging, irrespective of such a high turnover in tenants.

Throughout the development process there has been a significant emphasis on promoting environmental construction. As a result, MDH Arkitekter chose to use Kebony wood as the main building material for the façade, offering a sustainable alternative to tropical hardwood, cement and brick.

Dagfinn Sagen, of MDH Arkitekter said: “This is an incredibly ambitious project, and once completed it will be the largest CLT construction project in Europe. We chose Kebony for the build as it requires no treatment throughout its whole life cycle, and is the perfect choice when you need a cladding material that is maintenance free. Over time, it also naturally develops an attractive silver grey patina, an aesthetic that we believe really works for this project.”

Mette Valen, sales manager at Kebony added: “The project team working on Moholt 50|50 have done an incredible job, creating a large and striking building in the midst of a built up residential area. We were really pleased to see that they placed such importance on environmental values, and we hope that the size of the build will show others that even large scale projects can place sustainability as a key focus.”