Levi’s pine wood building code creates challenges for developers as material becomes scarce and expensive

Building restrictions in the Finnish ski resort of Levi requiring pine wood exteriors are causing delays and cost increases, as the material has become difficult to source and significantly more expensive, reports Yle.

The municipality of Kittilä enforces a zoning plan in parts of Levi’s Utsuvaara area, mandating that new buildings must feature exterior cladding made from kelo—naturally dried pine wood prized for its rustic, silver-grey appearance. However, developers now face major obstacles due to soaring prices and limited availability, particularly after the halt of Russian imports.

“If you buy a plot in the pine wood zone, you know the requirements,” said Mauri Kenttälä, Kittilä’s building inspector. The municipality currently has 16 undeveloped plots in these restricted areas. While some have proposed alternative paint shades to mimic kelo, Kenttälä noted that substitutes simply “don’t look like the real thing.”

Some areas in Kittilä have already relaxed exterior material rules due to the challenges, but Utsuvaara’s planners remain committed to preserving the pine wood aesthetic in neighbourhoods where it is already established. “Changing it now would make newer cabins stand out unnaturally,” Kenttälä explained.

Builders adapt with hybrid techniques as costs triple

With Russian-sourced kelo—once a staple for large-scale projects—no longer available, local builders are innovating. Timo Helppikangas, a Kittilä-based contractor with over 30 years of experience, described a shift from solid kelo logs to thinner veneers applied over modern insulated wood frames.

“Six years ago, kelo cost a third of what it does today,” Helppikangas estimated. The scarcity has forced creative solutions, such as combining different cladding methods in a single structure—some walls in solid kelo, others in split-pine panelling—to stretch limited supplies. Yet technical hurdles remain, as traditional kelo structures settle over time while rigid frames do not, risking gaps in rooflines and joints.

Helppikangas remains hopeful that prices may ease if cross-border trade resumes but acknowledges that kelo is increasingly becoming “just a decorative surface” rather than a primary building material.