Technology Finch Buildings

A natural protective layer

In timber construction, your building is protected from fire by the natural layer that trees also have. It will char, but the core remains intact!

Finch Buildings loves sustainability

'We are not a competitor but a partner of traditional.

— Jurrian Knijtijzer Sustainable, modular and constructed rapidly: it almost sounds too good to be true. With modular timber construction, Jurrian Knijtijzer, founder of Dutch company Finch Buildings, is shaking up the real estate sector. Since it was established in 2014, Finch Buildings has produced more than 8,500 modules made of wood and stored more than 10,000 tonnes of CO2.

— Wood is hot Jurrian: “Finch Buildings stands for fast, flexible and carbon-positive construction. I encountered modular building during my studies, but for me, quality and sustainability was missing from the story – especially when you know that about 36% of all CO2 emissions come from the built environment... The big culprit in the real estate story is concrete. If it were a country, it would be the third-largest polluter in the world after the U.S. and China! It was vital to make a switch and opt for timber construction. Like plants, wood photosynthesizes and therefore stores CO2. In addition, we also manage our raw material in a sustainable way: in our certified production forest in Austria, we plant 5 new trees for every 3 trees used!” — 8 modules per day Jurrian: “The advantages of modular construction? We make our standard components in a factory and then put the building together on the site. Under these controlled conditions, we can work very quickly. We manufacture 8 modules per day, and can set up 10 modules per day on location. In order to make this whole process flawless, we work together with a large number of partners. Architects, entrepreneurs and manufacturers all help to make our projects a success.”

— Competition? Jurrian: “Gradually, we discovered that, contrary to our initial expectations, we are a partner and not a competitor of traditional constructors. After the perhaps somewhat di cult start in terms of cooperation, our partners can quickly see the benefits. Cooperation means we can work perfectly within our margin and twice as fast for the same price. Of course, it requires a certain amount of flexibility and adaptation, but so far we've been able to complete every project with smooth cooperation!”

— A dream for the future Jurrian: “At Finch Buildings, we're always looking toward the next step. That's how we got in touch with the Belgian investment group Amavi in 2020. The group's network, combined with its real estate and technological knowledge, immediately convinced us to forge a partnership with them. Thanks to Amavi's contacts, we hope to expand into Belgium soon. In addition to the necessary catching-up in the field of sustainable construction, we can also help the country achieve the European Green Deal objectives. And this is not only the case in Belgium, by the way: here in the Netherlands, too, we believe that Finch Buildings' modular and compact timber construction could be the perfect answer to our current housing and climate crisis!” Jurrian Knijtijzer

During his studies as an architect, he first learned about modular construction. But the projects he found lacked quality and sustainability, in his view. As a modular, high-quality and sustainable product, cross-laminated timber proved to be the solution. In 2014, Jurrian took matters into his own hands by establishing Finch Buildings. He wants to contribute to a future in which buildings are an active solution to the climate change problem.