Articles / April 11, 2024

French school becomes first project completed in Stora Enso’s new automated coating line

The Bourdonnières School in Nantes, France becomes the first project completed using Stora Enso’s automated coating line for cross-laminated timber (CLT). The production line is levelling up the protection for mass timber against moisture, UV radiation and insects.

London, April 2024 – The 2,150 m² school, designed by forma6, was constructed by making use of Stora Enso’s prefabricated kit of parts – Sylva by Stora Enso. For the first time ever, these parts were automatically precoated with hydrophobic protection against moisture in the new fully automated production line at the Stora Enso mill in Ybbs, Austria, that is up and running since the beginning of this year. Coatings are applied as part of the prefabrication of the components and help streamline on-site construction, protect the mass timber elements as well as increase the speed of the project. A shorter installation time – an advantage for mass timber elements in general – meant less noise pollution and traffic in and around the school area.

The school’s façade is designed with recycled materials and certified bio-based wood fibre insulation in addition to sustainable and reusable wood. In the space developed using Sylva CLT Floors, Roofs and Walls a total of 230 students will be attending classes, spread across two levels. The building features excellent indoor air quality – vital for children’s lungs –, biophilic design, and high acoustic performance, all contributing to an excellent learning environment for both children and teachers.

Timber specialist OBM explained that the City of Nantes faced an urgent need for new sustainably built schools in the area. Stora Enso’s range of prefabricated wood-based applications coated with hydrophobic protection, that shortened the construction time, was the perfect solution to meet those needs.”

Kim Ekberg, Product Manager at Stora Enso commented: “For the construction of the Bourdonnières school we were working on a very tight timeframe and had several constraints at the site itself. For example, we knew that we would have to leave the elements exposed on-site for a period of time, which can be a risk due to the weather. Our hydrophobic coating from our new coating line combats this risk by protecting the wood from absorbing moisture and making it easier to keep the surfaces clean from dirt.”

This first project completion follows Stora Enso’s initial investment of EUR 9 million in 2022 to develop this new state-of-the-art automated coating line at the Ybbs sawmill in Austria, which continues to serve the global market. The line offers coatings to protect Sylva CLT elements from moisture, UV damage and / or insects and additionally allows for a visually enhanced surface with several grades of white. The industrial application delivers shorter construction times as well as improved quality through prefabrication and quality control.

As a sustainably sourced and produced material, Stora Enso’s Sylva kit of prefabricated wood-based products can help meet carbon off set requirements and lower the environmental footprint of construction as well as the building’s entire life cycle.

This is Stora Enso

Part of the global bioeconomy, Stora Enso is a leading provider of renewable products in packaging, biomaterials and wooden construction, and one of the largest private forest owners in the world. We create value with our low-carbon and recyclable fiber-based products, through which we support our customers in meeting the demand for renewable sustainable products.

Stora Enso has approximately 20,000 employees and our sales in 2023 were EUR 9.4 billion. storaenso.com

The Wood Products division is Europe’s largest sawn timber producer and a leading provider of sustainable wood-based solutions for the global construction industry. Additionally, it offers window and door components, and co-products such as pellets made from wood residuals.www.storaenso.com/woodproducts