SOLHØY SENIOR CARE HOME

NORDTREAT AND FIRESAFE WORK TOGETHER TO PROVIDE FIRE PROTECTION FOR CLT SURFACES IN A CARE HOME

The municipality of Vestby in Norway has had a wooden, round-the-clock care home built for seniors. The building is comprised of 67 apartments, which take into account the extensive care needs of the target group alongside fire safety.

Built by the construction company Solid Entreprenør AS, the Solhøy senior care home was made using wood that represents sustainable development and emphasizes the creation of a homelike atmosphere for the care facility. For senior care homes, it is particularly important to ensure that the structures are properly protected against fire and that the time to vacate the building safely in the event of a fire is maximized.

WOODEN SURFACES HAVE AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN INTERIOR SPACES

A timber-framed care home was a natural choice during the design process. As a material, wood represents sustainable development, but it also provides a homelike atmosphere in residential facilities. The building is constructed using solid wood, except for the basement, which is made from poured concrete.

The apartments are connected to a day center that offers health and wellbeing services as well as a culture hall. The outdoor areas must offer the residents sufficient views and a link to the surrounding nature.

The architecture emphasizes the solid wood that is used extensively in the interior surfaces and the large windows that ensure sufficient natural light. All common areas are equipped with lighting that is controlled automatically based on natural light. Wooden surfaces have been found to reduce stress visually, tactilely, and acoustically.

The windows of the fire safe apartments offer astonishing views. The feedback from the residents has been positive.

BEAUTIFUL MATT SURFACES WITH NT DECO

The CLT walls in the apartments and the emergency exit corridors in the Solhøy facility were treated using translucent white NT DECO (color NTD 61) by the Norwegian Firesafe AS. The company has used NT DECO for a couple of years now, as the product offers excellent performance and quality.

"NT DECO is an ideal product for CLT surfaces, as surface treatment agents used for interior walls must meet the requirements of Euroclass B-s1, d0. The painters were trained on-site without issue, and they became familiar with the various phases quickly.

The product is easy to apply, and the white translucent finish looks great. The owner and main contractor of the building are also very happy with the finished surface treatment.”

 Hallvard K Engøy, Technical Manager, FIRESAFE AS

The CLT surfaces in the care home were treated using translucent white NT DECO.

TIMBER CONSTRUCTION GROWING FAST IN NORWAY

Timber construction has been predicted to increase significantly in Norway over the coming decades. In the past few years, for example, the solid wood construction sector has grown by a third. The largest manufacturer of wood elements in Norway Splitkon AS produces 50 000 cubic meters of solid wood structures each year.

Solid wood structures are increasingly required by the design and structural solutions of new buildings, and CLT elements have in fact become a standard material used by architects. The construction industry has also kept a close eye on the positive properties of timber construction, such as its low carbon footprint and the responsibility aspect.

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