The Pudasjärvi City Council has made a unanimous policy decision to favour wood construction for all public buildings. According to Mayor Tomi Timonen, the political mindset was based on the great significance of the forestry sector in the area. "We wanted to secure the hundreds of industrial jobs offered by the forestry sector, wood processing and construction. Wood construction provides significant cash flow for the area in the form of stump rates, transport, processing and construction. This made it easy to commit to furthering wood construction."

Finland's largest log house manufacturer, Kontiotuote Oy, is improving its productivity by investing in design and industrial automation. The company has its own architecture and construction design units that employ as many people as actual production. "We use the industrial Internet, where design directs production. We can already see that strengthening investments in design has improved productivity," says Jalo Poijula, Managing Director of Kontiotuote Oy.

Construction of the world's tallest wood high-rise will begin next spring in Vienna, Austria. When completed in 2017, the HoHo building will have 24 storeys. Today, the tallest wood high-rise is a 14-storey residential building under construction in Bergen, Norway.

Deputy Mayor Anni Sinnemäki wants Helsinki to be a vanguard in wood construction in Finland, both in special projects and construction of multi-storey buildings. Sinnemäki, who is in charge of construction, is pleased with the Supreme Administrative Court's decision giving municipalities the right to zone areas for wood buildings. "I'm truly proud that the city followed through on the judicial process arising from the zoning complaint, and through that paved the way for municipalities to address wood construction in zoning regulations. The decision about Honkasuo now serves as an example for all municipalities to utilise wood construction when they wish," says Sinnemäki.