Strategies for an Integrated Sustainable Renovation Process: Focus on the Swedish Housing stock ‘People’s Home’

Paper in proceeding, 2011

This study focuses on elaboration of scenario parameters to support strategies for an integrated renovation process of culturally valuable pre-boom housing stock from the People’s Home(Folkhemmet) period i.e. 1945-1960 in Sweden. This stock, now in focus for renovations, combines older craftsmanship with thorough planning on a neighborhood level. Their qualities refer to aesthetics, material use, living qualities and efficient use of space. Present renovation strategies often reduce the complexity of the problem to technological and energy saving measures in a short-term perspective. Integrated and differentiated strategies are needed in order to improve energy efficiency and environmental performance, whilst respecting and safeguarding potential loss of invaluable cultural, architectural and social values (immaterial values). This paper presents a model to identify and describe both material and immaterial parameters which need to be known, valued and balanced in integrated sustainable renovation of the People’s Home housing stock. The model covers ten areas: (a) general description, (b) architectural quality, (c) social quality, (d)cultural quality, (e) technical description, (f) technical performance, (g) functional performance, (h)environmental performance, (i) economic performance, and (j) renovation process quality. A special attention is given to our exploration to define and describe immaterial values such as architectural, cultural and social qualities.