The Finnish architect Marco Casagrande has come up with a new innovation – a city structure made from laminated wood called Paracity. It can be used to quickly construct flats and even entire cities.

The Paracity modules, consisting of 6-cubic-metre blocks, can be combined and stacked, and flats and infrastructure built inside them. This enables people to build their own cities.

Paracity’s module structure is manufactured from Finnish cross-laminated pine.
— The idea of Paracity is the same as a slum, where the residents quickly claim the available space, Marco Casagrande says.

Paracity can help to solve problems related to urban decay and offers a fast solution for reconstruction.
In the first stage, Paracities will be built on a flood-ridden island in Taipei, Taiwan, a tsunami-prone area in Northern Fukushima in Japan and in Jakarta, Indonesia. These areas have in common a high probability of natural disasters and a desperate housing shortage. The module has been designed to withstand floods and earthquakes and is also fireproof.

— When realised, Paracity Taipei will be the world's largest wooden building. Production is expected to begin next year. At first, 200 to 400 cubes will be inhabited, and, in the future, the city can easily be enlarged, says Casagrande.

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Photo: VisitHelsinki/Kimmo Brandt