The aim of this study is to investigate the economic, environmental and technological challenges, as well as the environmental potential, of prolonging the life cycle of construction materials with focus on structural timber in Finland. To achieve this, a literature review was conducted along with interviews with actors pertinent to timber construction. Moreover, a case study of life cycle environmental impact assessment was conducted to quantify the potential of reusing timber to abate global warming and other environmental burden. The literature review highlighted the possibility of reusing structural timber, but pointed to the need for efficient and standardized assessment criteria. The interviews indicated interest towards the concept of circular economy applied to construction and demolition wood material, although this appears to be driven more by policy and regulation rather than for business reasons. Therefore, a reconfigured conceptual framework to achieve circularity for wood is proposed, where material brokers would be used to connect different actors along the value chain. The paper concludes with a case study showing that reusing structural timber components can result in a significant reduction of the environmental burden.

这项研究的目的是调查延长芬兰建筑材料生命周期的经济，环境和技术挑战以及环境潜力，重点是芬兰的结构性木材。为了实现这一目标，进行了文献综述，并采访了与木材建筑相关的演员。此外，还进行了一个生命周期环境影响评估案例研究，以量化重新利用木材减轻全球变暖和其他环境负担的潜力。文献综述强调了重用结构性木材的可能性，但指出需要有效和标准化的评估标准。访谈表明，人们对将循环经济概念应用于建筑和拆除木材的兴趣浓厚，尽管这似乎更多地是由政策和法规驱动的，而不是出于商业原因。因此，提出了一种重新配置的概念框架以实现木材的圆形性，其中将使用材料经纪人来连接价值链上的不同参与者。本文以一个案例研究结束，该案例研究表明重复使用结构性木材组件可以显着减少环境负担。