Image: Lluís J. Liñán
Research project ‘God bostad i dag’ investigates the quality of the residential architecture that is being produced in Sweden within the framework of the current municipal housing supply programs.
In Sweden, as in many other countries, the assessment of residential architecture is primarily based on dimensional and typological recommendations. However, the mere application of dimensional standards does not automatically guarantee that an apartment, or a housing building, is good. By incorporating other standards and assessment criteria, ‘God bostad i dag’ analyzes how contemporary housing projects contribute to the quality of life of their residents, regulate the ecological footprint of the built environment, and add to the city’s social agenda.
An assessment method to increase in the quality of Sweden’s future housing stock.
This research project investigates the impact of Sweden’s contemporary housing architecture on their residents, the environment, and society. It does so by addressing the tools used by the municipalities to evaluate housing projects. In Sweden, these tools are very precise when it comes to the spatial configuration of the projects, but other important aspects such as their environmental impact or their societal scope are just briefly considered. By developing specific parameters to incorporate these aspects into housing assessment at a municipal scale, ‘God bostad i dag’ intends to enrich the evaluation criteria of housing projects and, in so doing, contribute to an improvement of Sweden’s residential architecture.
The empirical material for the project is based on a pilot study, ‘God bostad i Umeå’, comprising residential projects to be built in the municipality under the current housing supply program. These projects are analyzed considering their spatial, environmental, and societal qualities, thereby producing knowledge relevant to architecture policy and future assessment.
Despite the municipal scope of the pilot study, ‘God bostad i dag’ connects to a wide network. At one end, it builds on housing research in Sweden conducted at a national scale since the 1930s. At the other, it adds to a line of research that has been implemented in other municipalities in Sweden, including Stockholm and Göteborg.
