HEALTHY HOMES INSPIRED by NORDIC NATURE 2 the Good Life Starts Here
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HEALTHY HOMES INSPIRED BY NORDIC NATURE 2 The good life starts here In today’s busy world, home has become more important than ever. We can all influence the quality of our lives through the choices we make. We at Honka are dedicated to giving people the opportunity to enjoy their lives in the best possible homes. It’s our passion to use the best natural raw materials to build sustainable homes in which people live better and feel better. With our innovations, your family can have a healthy, sustainable and ecological high-tech home, with the design you desire. Living in a genuine Honka log house makes a perfect excuse for more home- time. A Honka home is the start of a new life. 3 60 years of good living Honka was founded in 1958 in Eastern Finland when five brothers became interested in building houses. Living in the forestry Finland, the Saarelainen brothers grew up getting to know, love and understand wood. “Our extensive experience of They dreamt of creating houses of Finnish pine and handling one of the world’s oldest giving people around the world a chance to enjoy the building materials has made use soothing benefits of solid wood. These brothers were experts in healthy and ecological the founders of Honka, the first industrial log house living.” manufacturer in the world. Today, Honka is a global pioneer in modern log building Marko Saarelainen, CEO technology. We have built approximately 85,000 houses around the world and come up with countless innovations that have changed log construction to its core. Together with our partner network, we carry out building projects all over the world - from Finland to Russia and Asia and North America. All made in Finland of quality Finnish pine. 4 OUR MISSION: We build houses that make people happy - in an ecologically sustainable way. 5 Healthy and organic living 6 It’s more than a house. It’s a home. A genuine Honka log house is a warm, inviting and healthy place to live. It’s an ecological home that quite literally takes good care of the people who live within its walls. Wood has been loved by people through the ages. Using cutting-edge production technology, Honka processes the wood into the best possible construction material. Despite the high degree of processing, the dense and healthy log in the wall is still the same pine tree that has endured snow, rain and sun in a Finnish forest. The feeling you get when you walk through the doors of a log house is unique – warm, cosy and welcoming. Natural. NATURAL HIGH INDOOR DE-STRESS MATERIALS AIR QUALITY LIVING The main material of Massive wood has the It has been scientifically Honka houses is Finnish unique ability to absorb proven that solid wood pine which is a 100 % moisture and release it structures lower heart renewable, dense and back into the air as the rate and reduce stress durable construction room dries. This helps to like walking in the material. The feeling keep the indoor humidity woods. Solid wood also you get when you walk at an optimal level, has excellent acoustic through the doors of where the air is easy to properties, absorbing a log house is unique breathe and the growth sounds and creating – warm, cosy and of mould and bacteria is a calming and cosy welcoming. Natural. minimised. atmosphere. 7 De-stress living Did you know that living in a log home can reduce stress like a walk in the woods? Pine tree contains the phytoncides which make up the essential oils of many plants and trees. These are found to decrease levels of the cortisol stress hormone. The scientists have discovered that buildings with wooden structures lower blood pressure and heart rate. Solid wood also has excellent acoustic properties, absorbing sounds and creating a calming and cosy atmosphere. Human Research 2009: School without stress. Weiz: Human Research, Institute of Health Technology and Prevention Research 8 9 A healthy home for your family The optimal indoor air humidity for good health is between 30 and 55 per cent. At this humidity level, the air is easy to breathe and the growth of mould and bacteria is minimised. This helps to prevent allergies and respiratory infections. Log buildings promote good health naturally, thanks to their superior air quality. According to an extensive European study, the more massive wood there is inside a house, the healthier the air quality becomes. Massive wood has the unique ability to absorb moisture and release it back into the air in the room when it has dried. All technical solutions used in Honka homes are structurally safe and extensively tested. Our houses are some of the most air and watertight on the market, which allows them to stand the test of time, in all weather conditions. Our patented and design-protected innovations help make sure every Honka house is a warm and healthy home for generations to come. Thanks to our extensive experience and active research and development, we have the knowledge needed to build houses for sensitive groups such as children and adults suffering from breathing problems, allergies or asthma. NATURALLY OPTIMAL AIR HUMIDITY Massive wood has the unique ability to absorb moisture and release it back into the air in the room when it has dried. 50 % 0 % 60 % 4 % 70 30 % % 8 0 0 2 % TOO DRY AIR: % 9 TOO HUMID AIR: 0 0 bacteria, viruses, fungus, acarina, bacteria, viruses, allergy and % 1 asthma, respiratory tract allergy and asthma and chemical reactions infections and ozone formation Reference: Simonson, Salonvaara, Ojanen: Improving Indoor Climate and Comfort with Wooden Structures. VTT Publications, 2001. 10 “The number one reason for choosing a Honka house was to have a healthy home for our family which suffers from allergies and asthma. We already have experience of a poorly built house – we definitely didn’t need another one.” Marjo Rönnkvist, a mother of three. 11 PEFC/02-31-192 An ecologically sustainable choice One of the greatest things about Finland is its abundance of trees. In fact, more wood grows in Finnish forests than is harvested. Using renewable Finnish wood as a construction material is an ecological choice in the battle against climate change. At Honka, environmental awareness is a natural part of who we are and everything we do – from the raw materials to production process and all the way to the finished product. 100 % RENEWABLE AND RECYCLABLE When purchasing wood, Honka is committed to sustainable forestry where ecological values and wood production are in balance. The PEFC certification guarantees that the Honka’s raw material originates from certified Finnish forests. We never buy wood from protected regions. Massive wood can also be recycled 100%. FORESTS STORE CO2 When a tree grows, it binds a significant amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and cleans the air we breathe. In a wooden building, the carbon is kept out of the atmosphere for hundreds of years. A medium-sized Honka house is capable of storing 90 000 kg of CO2 which equals driving around the Earth 14 times. ECOLOGICAL MANUFACTURING Our operations are certified in accordance with the ISO 14000 environmental standard. We use 97 % of our raw material and any leftover building materials are used for bioenergy. The amount of energy consumed in the industrial production of massive wood is 50 % of the energy required for cement production and only 20 % of that required for brick production. We only use renewable energy in our production. 12 The trees will grow again 13 “As an elite athlete, I consider well-being and health to be among the highest prio- rities in my life. I was immediately convinced by Honkarakenne in the very first meeting. They listened to my wishes and designed the house in accordance with my needs and the environment. This was one of the most important decisions I’ve ever made. Now I have a place I’m happy to spend the rest of my life in!” Kaisa Mäkäräinen, multiple medallist in international biathlon competitions 14 Designed for you Our goal is to create beautiful and functional homes in timeless Scandinavian design. Houses that you’ll find easy to fall in love with. A Honka log house is always made to suit CONTEMPORARY COLLECTION your individual needs and lifestyle. When you want a premium-quality log house that fits into your budget, choose a suitable log house kit from the Honka Collection. Our designers will help you to customise the model to suit your needs exactly. If you wish to build a custom log home, your personal needs will guide the design process. If you have your own architect involved, we will support you both in finding feasible solutions. CLASSIC COLLECTION HOLIDAY COLLECTION 15 ”Modern log technology provides excellent opportunities for creating architecture in the Scandinavian style. The minimalistic designs can be utilised in urban and natural environments alike. Besides visual advan- tages, log buildings provide an unrivalled natural atmosphere of well- being – which is at the core of Scandinavian design.” Tanja Rytkönen, VP, design and R&D 16 HONKA FUSIONTM AND THE FREEDOM OF DESIGN As a natural material, wood changes over the course of time. As wood dries, it shrinks, causing a log house to settle. This is a natural phenomenon, and even though designers with expertise in log home planning can meet the challenges, it still used to set some limitations for the architects. Our innovation, the non-settling Honka FusionTM log, allows all the excellent properties of a traditional log house to be incorporated into modern urban living.