Solutions in Wood

Since its origins in the 1930s as a sawmill in North-western Spain, FINSA has grown to become an industry leader in wood-based solutions and innovation, and today produces 2million m3 of engineered panels with an ever-expanding range of newly developed materials made from sustainably sourced and recycled timber.

Innovation is at the heart of FINSA’S ‘Solutions in Wood’ mantra. Stemming from three basic board types, namely chipboard, medium density fibreboard (MDF) and a proprietary hybrid panel called SuperPan, the manufacturer produces everything from high-performance structural panels to premium veneered materials, lightweight solutions, and bespoke panels to meet a given specification.

La Conexion

FINSA’s passion for timber construction can be seen in their new headquarters. MRM Architects redesigned this building as a huge living material library that celebrates timber construction and showcases their most innovative wood-based solutions. The proposal is based on a simple organisation and composition of open and flexible spaces, which aims to reflect the company’s new image while maintaining their philosophy of being a pioneer on the manufacturing of solutions in wood.

The building shows the predominant use of wood with a cross laminated timber (CLT) structure, floor and roof framing, suspended ceiling systems, and wall paneling. The different structural and constructive elements are arranged and designed with the least possible redundancy of materials and solutions. The volumetric simplicity is extended to the design of the glazed facades without visible framing, to enhance the feeling of ‘connection’ between the two existing buildings, as well as with the landscape, the nearby exterior, the building itself and the factory behind.

The first-floor acts as a central ‘plaza’ defined by various meeting rooms of different sizes and multi-purpose furniture to accommodate different meeting formats. The architects chose a grid structure with perimeter supports only on the two sides adjoining the existing buildings, thus achieving a highly versatile open plan. Based on a square module of 3 x 3m, it equally enhances all directions creating a dynamic space, underlining its centrality with dimensions which are perfect for generating the different meeting areas. Inside this grid, which is visible and defined by the structure of laminated wood beams, two elements are included: the staircase and the patio.

These emphasise the open plan around them in both levels of the building. Both elements also increase the verticality of the building and fulfill a double function: to expand the spatial perception of the ground floor and to connect both floors physically and visually through visual suggestive diagonals. In addition, numerous roof skylights improve the quality of the spaces, introducing abundant light diffuse in the grayest days of Santiago de Compostela .

SuperPan Tech P5

One of the highlights of the building is the use of FINSA’s SuperPan Tech P5, a multi-layer hybrid panel developed and patented by FINSA. The unique properties and high performance of SuperPan present a multitude of advantages when used in structural applications. SuperPan H Tech P5 (load bearing and moisture resistant) is increasingly recognised as a huge advancement in timber construction allowing for larger spans, thinner boards, and thus more efficient construction.

The flooring of La Conexion uses the board in 35mm to achieve a highly rigid system while spanning the large centres featured in the structure without the need for excessively thick panels. Thinner boards translate directly into a substantial cost saving, with benefits also found in storage, transport, and handling. This is just one of the many solutions that careful material selection has generated, the result of which is an extraordinarily unique space and a building that showcases what can be achieved when a manufacturer works in unison with designers and engineers.