Renovating to Passive Housing in the Swedish Million Programme

Journal article, 2012

In Sweden, there is a wealth of existing housing stock from the 1965-1974 intensive construction period known as the Million Programme. Many of the apartment buildings are now in need of renovation and have the potential for transformation to more energy-efficient constructions. This article examines the renovation of Million Programme apartment blocks in Alingsås, Sweden. The case study of Brogården, an urban housing area in the small city of Alingsås, reveals the quantitative success in energy savings through renovation to passive houses, and the qualitative success of the pragmatic process as residents, contractors and academics attest to the benefits of renovating with a strong environmental vision and a humanistic approach. Involving actors in a highly communicative process, and across multiple phases of the project, has closed the gap between research and practice. Combining existing data on the energy savings and comfort levels in the apartments together with interviews conducted with stakeholders from the partnering process illustrates the renovated buildings as technically efficient, and that the planning and construction process yielded unexpected results in social and economic sustainability. The Brogården renovations provide a concrete example of sustainable housing and overcome the typical challenges of moving from theory and idea to planning and realization. This article aims to discover the challenges and benefits of realizing ambitious passive house renovation projects to create eco-neighbourhoods. © 2012 Taylor & Francis.