PhD project The project is studying urban housing production processes in Sweden, from planning to use and maintenance, to explore how circular systems and local food production can be integrated at the building and neighbourhood scale. The aim is to contribute to a model for future housing that enable municipalities, developers, civic associations, and architects to create more resilient communities, with a systemic impact on the water-energy-food nexus.
The building and property sector is a major contributor to the total national greenhouse gas emissions, which indicates a potential for change to reduce the environmental impact of buildings. This study focuses on new-build housing projects within sub-arctic climates to investigate strategies that enable resilient urban development through up-scaling the Naturhus principles; by integrating ecological and circular systems in buildings. The study focuses on identifying challenges in current housing development processes in Sweden, particularly in the sub-arctic climate at 64°N latitude.
The building and property sector is a major contributor to national greenhouse gas emissions; responsible for over 20% of the total national emissions yearly. This underscores the need for transformative approaches to reduce its environmental impact. This doctoral research project investigates strategies to enable resilient urban housing development in sub-arctic climates. Specifically, the study explores the potential for systemic change through the integration of climate-responsive design, planning, and implementation models, with a particular emphasis on the water-energy-food nexus.
Central to this research is the hypothesis that buildings and their inhabitants can transition from being consumers to becoming producers by leveraging and scaling the Naturhus-principles (developed by the architect Bengt Warne in the 1970s) which include integrating ecological and circular systems for increased self-sufficiency on the building scale, specifically in relation to water and food. The study focuses on identifying challenges in current housing development processes (design, planning, construction, and use) in Sweden, particularly under the specific conditions of the sub-arctic climate at 64°N latitude.
The methodology combines case study research and action-based research, analyzing three ongoing projects of varying scales and programs to develop a comparative framework for evaluating inefficiencies and barriers within conventional building development practices.
The aim is to contribute to a model for future housing development that supports municipalities, developers, civic associations and architects in implementing projects that increase local self-sufficiency at both building and neighborhood scales, thereby contributing to a more sustainable and resilient urban fabric.
