Glued-laminated timber manufacturer delivers “wooden building kit” for Faroese prestige project

A large-scale building kit – that is the best way to describe an ambitious timber construction that has risen in Runavík, Faroe Islands. Here, XL-BYG has expanded its business, and the building is partly constructed with glulam and CLT elements supplied by the glulam manufacturer Lilleheden, which is experiencing a steadily increasing demand for timber-based building materials. The strong wind conditions in the Faroe Islands require larger glulam dimensions and place higher demands on the joints than typical Danish projects.

Lilleheden, based in Hirtshals in Northern Jutland, has seen growing interest in timber-based building materials, including on the Faroe Islands, where the company has just delivered glulam and CLT elements for XL-BYG’s prestige project in Runavík. As with most construction in the Faroe Islands, a large part of the new XL-BYG store is built in wood. However, the harsh Atlantic winds require significantly different material dimensions compared with Danish projects.

“We generally see increasing demand for our glulam solutions across all types of construction projects – and that also applies to timber merchants when they build new outlets. The main driver is the new CO2 limits in the Danish building code, which set stricter requirements for the choice of materials. Here, wood is an obvious option for reducing the climate footprint. In addition, for a timber merchant, it makes perfect sense to build in wood, as it showcases some of the very materials their customers can use in their own projects,” explains Camilla Nielsen, Key Account Manager at Lilleheden.

To optimize construction time, all elements were pre-processed at the factory, with large slotted fittings for the frame corners pre-installed.

“Due to the weather conditions, it was crucial for the client that the assembly process was as fast and easy as possible. That’s why we pre-prepared all joints in our production and pre-installed or supplied all the connection fittings – so the client literally received a giant building kit ready to assemble,” says Camilla Nielsen.

Wind conditions required larger dimensions

The Faroe Islands are well known for their wind-swept landscapes, and the high wind speeds placed exceptional demands on the glulam structures.

“In Denmark, we usually design based on wind speeds of 24–27 m/s. For this project, calculations were based on wind speeds of 55 m/s – equivalent to 198 km/h compared to 97 km/h. That requires entirely different dimensions for the load-bearing elements and joints than we are used to in Denmark,” explains Camilla Nielsen.

She adds that the load-bearing glulam frames span almost 25 meters freely and have a cross-sectional height of 1,785 mm.

Fact box:

• Supplier: Lilleheden A/S
• Client: BORG A/S
• Glulam supply: 246 m³ glulam consisting of rigid glulam frames, gable columns, floor beams, and compression/tension rods
• CLT supply: 259 m³ CLT elements for external and internal walls
• Construction period: 2024–2025