Affiliation
Institute of Architecture
The group’s range of expertise spans from academic insight into architectural and conservation history to technical competence focused on climate and energy solutions in today’s construction industry. The group comprises both researchers who publish traditional academic work (books, anthologies and articles) and practitioners with extensive knowledge production through design work and consultancy in planning and building matters. By formally establishing this research group, we aim to collaborate more closely in the years ahead, in order to consolidate an academic environment that can contribute both new scholarly insight and practical solutions to some of the most pressing challenges facing the field of architecture: a focus on existing resources at all stages of the planning and production of architecture, from material use to technical solutions and economics. This overarching theme will permeate all our activities – through self-initiated and externally funded research, teaching and dissemination – in the years to come.
More specifically, the group is united by a desire to combine qualitative and quantitative assessments in architectural processes. Although reuse is widely discussed in the architecture industry, practice shows that many assessments are carried out separately: by heritage authorities with cultural-historical expertise on one side, and by professionals with technical expertise on the other, while architects are left in the middle with the difficult task of balancing these considerations. This means that assessments that are inherently connected – for example, the cultural and environmental impact of retaining old windows – are often not coordinated. This makes it difficult for property owners and clients to carry out holistic analyses of the future potential of existing buildings. When cultural and technical considerations clash, it can quickly become complex, costly and time-consuming to properly refurbish buildings. In addition, the norm in the construction industry remains oriented towards demolition and new construction. This applies across all aspects, from the production of building materials and construction budgeting to technical requirements for materials, HVAC systems, fire safety and spatial standards.
This group aims to develop realistic alternatives to current practice. The objective is to make demolition less attractive and preservation more appealing, and to consider conservation in conjunction with new building elements, materials and technologies. Through practical, concrete projects, we will investigate what is required – architecturally and technically – to challenge prevailing industry standards, which currently tend to hinder rather than support conservation. Through critical academic work, we will seek to challenge the well-established idea that new is always better, and we will question prevailing ideals related to indoor comfort and well-being. We currently have a FRIPRO project in development that will examine this challenge more closely (see description below).