Design for Sustainable Building. A Swedish Perspective

Other conference contribution, 2008

The starting point for this speech is the necessity of efficiency in general as a long term global strategy. In particular, efficiency seems to be the main contribution from the building sector to sustainable development. Recent examples from Sweden point out that the potential for energy efficiency is far below the levels of current practice and building codes. The “Passive house” concept has gained much attention. However, passive house standards do not treat all environmental problems connected to building. For the future – what lies beyond the passive house? Designers have a large opportunity – and duty - to address the global vision of sustainable development in local contexts. This transition needs new forms for cooperation in integrated design processes and a tentative systemic process model is introduced.