A Vision for Nordic Baukultur

The Nordic ethos builds on openness, collaboration, welfare for all, and a connection to nature. These are also the building blocks for the ecological reconstruction of our built environment. The following vision for the Nordic Baukultur shows the way forward.

It is good to take into account that there’s not only one Baukultur but several local ones, and their cores are always shaped by the members of the societies. The development of the built environment starts in a local context, serving local needs, which is now more crucial than ever. Urbanization creates a division between growing and shrinking areas. Growing areas continuously develop to accommodate the growth, while shrinking areas grapple with adapting the built environment to a smaller population. This highlights how critical local conceptualizations of Baukultur are. However, all these places and contexts ideally share multiple aspects and values that we’ll soon dive deeper into.

To embody the values of our region, Nordic Baukultur must be more aspirational and practical than anything we’ve seen before. We must commit to making the most out of what already exists to move beyond the obsession to build more. We have to embrace what we already have and make it work for everyone. To see our existing resources as fuel for imagination, not a limitation.

Nature plays such a central role in our societies that Nordic Baukultur needs to be in harmony with it. The welfare state project was about social regeneration – improving the well-being of everyone. It’s only logical that the next phase is about regenerating the ecological systems that are the fundamentals of societal well-being.

Besides regeneration, we must reduce the harm done to the planet and its species. Taking the environmental crisis seriously calls for more than sustainable materials, technologies, and techniques. It requires the end of construction as we know it. While modernist Baukultur saw a location as a blank slate, contemporary Baukultur is deeply rooted in what already exists. Every place has its unique social, cultural, and biological characteristics, and they should form the base for development. Improving existing conditions is the starting point for regeneration. What’s already there should be seen as a resource, not a cost. We should look at buildings as co-inhabitants of the ecosystem, mutually supportive of each other.

Ending construction as we know it means putting a stop to demolition. It means documenting all the buildings, putting some under strict protection, and dedicating some to work as platforms for change. We use what we have more efficiently and renovate existing structures to meet today's quality standards rather than destroy them to start fresh. Where this isn’t possible, we carefully and circularly deconstruct and reuse instead of adopting standard demolition practices. This is a radical departure from what we’re currently doing. However, for Nordic Baukultur to be not only sustainable but regenerative, we must embark on that journey. The Nordic ethos is perfectly suited to meet the massive challenge head-on.

We should proudly display our buildings as the physical heritage of the welfare state, preserving and restoring them. Baukultur stands for community, both between people and the natural world we’re restoring through our practice. We’re transitioning from a world where new buildings serve an increasingly small portion of society to one where we improve what we have to serve everyone. Our Baukultur can be seen as an extension of the Nordic conception of welfarism.

Dignity and a good life have always been at the core of Nordic values. Our cultures are not about excess. We’ve focused on satisfaction rather than maximization, and we’ve been successful because of it. Other countries look up to us because of our welfare services. The idea that quality of life is a universal right runs deep in our societies, and our built environment has historically reflected this. Quality is not just a matter of price. It’s a public issue, a political discussion, and a way to elevate the lives of ordinary people.

From the Sagrada Família to the Parthenon, many past examples of Baukultur have been highly individualistic. The Nordic quality ideal extends functionality for all and is at the core of our interpretation of Baukultur. Here, the examples of Baukultur are not single buildings but programs, styles, ideas, policies, instruments, and movements. They're entire areas that embody the exceptionally universal ethos of the Nordics.

Compared to past leaps of progress, this transformation is different. The emerging digital world expands our opportunities beyond physical reality. The hybridization of spaces frees users from the constraints of space.

For decades, the design mantra has stated that form follows function. But in a hybrid reality, the importance of the form diminishes, and the variety of functions is almost endless.

The transition to Nordic Baukultur must be just. We need to strike a fine balance between innovative leaps forward and measured, careful consideration. This means that all stakeholders – the construction industry, planners, policymakers, architects, and residents – must have a chance to actively participate in shaping the transition. We must pay special attention to groups that have been historically marginalized by our current system.

Justice is about more than just giving people a voice. Transitions create benefits and burdens; we must distribute these fairly, balancing diverse and sometimes conflicting needs. We must respect and provide for everyone as well as possible.

To put Nordic Baukultur into practice, it has to evoke a sense of collective ownership. We’ll remain stuck with business as usual if we can’t demonstrate the value of transformation to its possible partners on their terms or dispel fears of what might be threatened or lost. There’s still a large gap between the vision of our narrative and the reality of what a transformed built environment will look, feel, and function like in the varied locations that make up the Nordics. If we don’t fill this gap, we can’t catalyze the level of transformation needed.

A future where we come together to innovate and experiment with new technical and economical ownership and decision-making models. There’s plenty of work for all, but it’s also an invitation to be exceptional.

The Nordic people are innovators of a specific kind. Time and again, we’ve set new standards for using collaboration, ingenuity, and experimentation to solve the most complex problems. Today, we need to rise to the occasion as innovators again. One of the biggest challenges of our era is balancing between providing quality housing for everyone and the importance of zero-carbon construction. The central and deep-rooted role of construction in the Nordics is both our asset and a threat. There are numerous levers we can pull, yet many things still depend on building new.

Another challenge relates to power, trust, and the particular way we understand democracy in the Nordics. It’s a way of life, a never-ending collective and individual process of democratization – a mission to live together autonomously. We must innovate and extend our systems of democracy to allow participation in planning, designing, and ownership of the built environment for those whose lives it dictates. We have to leverage our powers to create new models for participatory design, ownership, financial, and economic models that align the interests of the inhabitants and the owners of the buildings. As is typical for Nordic people, we should empower each other to take agency and trust that our peers will use it for the common good.

We must also innovate with technical tools and methods to embrace biomaterials, restoration, and circular material use. We don’t have many examples of the look and feel of buildings that are materially different yet. However, there’s new value in novel uses of new kinds of materials and their combinations and extensions. Here, hybridization of the built environment offers another route to innovation: we can model, simulate, and experiment with homes, buildings, areas, and ecosystems without having to wait for the results post-construction.

Commercial actors need dialogue and support around new business models and markets. We must work collaboratively with business leaders, supporting them as they enter this uncharted territory. We can empower them to once again act as the visionaries they’ve repeatedly proven themselves to be.

There’s a lot of new carbon-neutral infrastructure to build. For architects, engineers, and technologists, it means an opportunity to unleash their creative potential. To feel inspired by their new roles. Rather than buildings, we should build communities and models for ownership and collaboration. Connecting spaces and their users is more important than ever. We must align creative expression and interpretation with environmental and social regeneration if we want Nordic Baukultur to extend beyond policy and regulation.

For ordinary citizens, it means emphasizing and cherishing localized autonomy so that they don't see Baukultur as just another top-down imposition or restriction of individual freedom.