The Kerto-Ripa wall element reduces wood material usage by up to 50% in high-rise building walls. Credit: Paavo Reponen/Metsä Group/Cision.

Metsä Wood has developed a new wood-based wall panel solution designed to provide both high load-bearing strength and material efficiency.

This wall structure is particularly beneficial as a load-bearing and stiffening exterior and partition wall solution for high-rise residential and office buildings.

The design aims to improve building performance while reducing overall material usage, making it a sustainable and reliable solution for modern construction needs.

The structural glued wall element, composed of Kerto laminated veneer lumber beams and panels, complements the Kerto-Ripa element concept, which is already established for its efficiency in roof and floor structures.

The construction industry is increasingly prioritising the rational use of raw materials, and this new wall element is expected to offer an advantage by providing more sellable floor space due to thinner wall constructions.

Metsä Wood Technical Customer Service team manager Janne Heikkilä said: “Despite the smaller amount of material, the load-bearing capacity of the Kerto-Ripa wall element is excellent. This enables tall and heavily loaded buildings to be constructed in a material-efficient manner.”

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Calculations suggest that the Kerto-Ripa wall construction could reduce wood material usage by up to 50% in the walls of a high-rise building when compared to comparable wood constructions.

Additionally, the wall structure’s compatibility with hybrid construction methods and its ability to support continuous wall elements up to 20m in height make it a versatile choice for modern construction projects.

VVR Wood, a long-term manufacturing partner of Metsä Wood, has added the new wall element to its range of products.

VVR Wood managing director Tero Vesanen said: “Kerto-Ripa elements are pre-fitted large elements with well-thought-out solutions. Construction becomes more efficient by moving the construction work from the site to the element factory, and the time on site is shorter.”