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Reach 97,000 UK and global construction experts. Structural Laminated Veneer Lumber
Just over 12m high, with a diameter of 21.6m, the so-called “Wisdome” can seat 100 people for immersive, audiovisual science presentations.
The structure is comprised of 277 unique CLT triangles produced at wood-product company Stora Enso’s Gruvön mill in Sweden.
Covering the dome is a timber structure with a curving, shingled roof composed of 25 layers of 31mm-thick laminated veneer lumber (LVL) beams.
• Explore how they built the Wisdome:
Stora Enso said the enclosing structure uses 20km of its Sylva LVL beams.
They were engineered by Swiss timber specialist Blumer Lehmann and shipped to site in the museum’s courtyard, where they were assembled with 1mm precision.
Stora Enso said the trees grown for the timber captured 1,178 tonnes of carbon dioxide while growing.
“It takes only a couple of minutes for the same amount of wood used in the building to grow back in the Swedish forests on a summer day,” the company added.
Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf cut the ribbon for the Wisdome yesterday (5 December), and it opens to the public on Saturday.
Specialist timber contractor: Blumer Lehmann AG
Okoume Veneered Plywood Financiers: Wallenberg Foundations, Erling-Perssons Foundation, Stora Foundation, Fritz Öst Foundation