Central learnings

This section presents a brief summary of the key learnings based on the content of the 24 interviews of this publication. This summary section is organized in five categories of key learnings. The first category reflects the need for, and the emergence of, general mindset changes observed among the experts interviewed in the four sections of this publication. The second category brings together the arguments for legal and regulatory development, as expressed in this material. The third category is a summary of the identified responsibilities and challenges, as well as knowledge and experience of the construction industry, including the use of material and the design task. The fourth category assembles learnings on the importance on the level of community, where place-based knowledge and collaboration are key factors in politics and practices. The fifth category summarizes the key learnings on the ecosystem level, the green and blue systems that know no boundaries set by legal or national borders.

The traditional mindset of constant building and consumption, rooted in the 20th-century economic growth paradigm, needs to be challenged. There’s a growing culture that values doing more with existing resources rather than continually adding new constructions.

Importance of political will: Strong political leadership and commitment to sufficiency-based policies are crucial for enacting meaningful, science-backed changes in the building industry.

Effective and informed mobilization: Engaging politicians and industry stakeholders with clear, well-researched data is key to inspiring action and ensuring the construction sector contributes positively to national emission targets.

Agility in policy and practice: Institutions must become more agile to keep pace with rapid changes and evolving scientific knowledge. This agility is necessary to address the urgent climate crisis effectively.

Valuing ecosystem services: Ecosystem services are often undervalued in economic systems and local land use planning, leading to decisions that neglect long-term environmental benefits. Economic decisions often favor immediate financial returns, overlooking the long-term opportunity costs and ecosystem services, such as flood protection.

Need for mature economic understanding: A more mature political and economic perspective is needed, where ecosystem services are properly valued and prioritized over visible financial gains.

Evolving sustainability: The concept of sustainability is shifting to include social dimensions and must adapt to account for "unknown unknowns" in future definitions and practices. Sustainable concepts are merging into a cohesive narrative, driving positive change.

Historical perspective on resource scarcity: Post-World War II resource scarcity required careful use and reuse of materials. Today's resource shortages, driven by unsustainable consumption, necessitate a similar approach to preserve resources for future generations.
 
Challenges of adopting new methods: Overcoming mental and process-based barriers is crucial for shifting towards sustainable practices, requiring education and a reevaluation of decisions on all levels, across all businesses and borders.

A new enlightenment: Akin to the 18th-century European Enlightenment, where shifting societal values were driving sustainable change, we might be in a similar mindset transformation. Observations suggest that younger generations might already be embodying these transformative values.

Sustainable Legal Foundation: Planning and building laws should prioritize sustainable development, requiring legal reforms where necessary.

Urgent Legislative Alignment: The building industry's impact on biodiversity demands immediate legislative alignment with climate science to mitigate its environmental footprint effectively.

Setting and Revising CO₂ Targets: Establishing quantifiable CO₂ emission limits, even if imperfect, provides a baseline for ongoing improvements, fostering innovation and competition.

Incentivizing and Regulating Sustainability: Advocate for policy changes and adjusting contractor incentives to prioritize reuse over new construction, reducing community disruption and fostering sustainable practices.

Legislation and Regulation: Strong political and legislative support is essential for prioritizing the reuse of building materials, setting mandates for recycled content in construction, and overcoming market entry barriers.

Comprehensive System Integration: Developing national or EU-level frameworks and digital platforms is crucial to coordinate material availability, support logistics, and foster a circular economy in construction.

Need for legislative models for preservation: There is a conflict between preserving place-based values and the pressure from new EU directives and climate calculations. There is a need for updated models and tools that reflect the long-term sustainability and historical value of buildings, and a need for ensuring that preservation evaluations are mandatory before demolitions.

The need for legislative action: There is a need for legislation that ensures equal conditions for all actors in the construction sector, laws and clear guidelines to avoid leaving decisions to individual discretion.

Sustainable land use and policy coherence: Nordic countries need uniform land use strategies, with policies encouraging both restrictions on harmful practices and incentives for sustainable actions.

Overcoming legislative conflicts: Conflicting regulations hinder sustainable practices. The industry must adopt a more integrated approach, with flexible and innovative regulations that support sustainable choices and methods on all scales.

Circularity and sustainable use of existing buildings: The most sustainable buildings are those that already exist. Before constructing new buildings, it’s crucial to evaluate whether it's necessary. Circularity is intensified through shared housing, by better utilizing existing buildings, reducing the need for new construction.

Role of the construction industry: Rapid development of efficient solutions is needed to address the climate crisis within the construction industry. The construction industry plays a significant role in resource use and greenhouse gas emissions, presenting substantial opportunities for impactful change. Rapid development of efficient solutions is needed to meet climate goals.

Cultural shift in the construction industry: The construction sector is crucial in reducing resource use and emissions, with a strong push towards circular systems and holistic legislation to support sustainable practices. Challenge the assumption that building is always necessary; consider alternatives to demolition and new construction.

Paradigm shift in architecture: There is a significant shift from prioritizing new monumental buildings to transforming existing building stock with high-quality sustainable architecture. A growing "construction shame" in architecture reflects a broader societal move towards valuing building reuse over new construction, signaling a shift in how progress is perceived.

Creating a connection between supply and demand emphasizes the need for a comprehensive market platform that connects those who have reusable materials with those who need them. A functional infrastructure for reusing building materials requires a) a market platform, b) storage, c) sustainable transportation, d) quality assurance and insurance clearance, and e) digitalization to track materials.

Comprehensive impact assessment: Prioritize the reduction of virgin material use due to its significant impact on biodiversity and incorporate environmental considerations across the entire material lifecycle.

Balancing sustainability and affordability: A key challenge is to achieve sustainability without sacrificing affordability or architectural quality, particularly in housing, while aligning regulations across different regions.

Bridging research and practice: It is essential to close the gap between academic research and practical application by developing tools and knowledge that support environmental sustainability in the construction sector. Architects and educators should approach their work as learners, not masters, constantly seeking to understand and respect the places they are working in.

Contextual design approach: Place-based architecture involves understanding and integrating cultural, historical, and environmental contexts. Sustainable practices include using local materials and building in a resource-efficient way that aligns with social and economic conditions. Local and indigenous architecture benefits from experience, earned by time and interactive development in a specific location.

Embrace continuous innovation: Overcome the resistance to reuse in the construction industry by proving its viability as a business strategy and creating local job opportunities through refurbishment and repair practices. The industry must focus on the future by embracing new tools, contracts, and methods, recognizing that adaptability and flexibility are key to meeting evolving sustainability challenges.

Proactive Local Governance: Encourage local authorities to actively use land ownership and long-term strategies to drive sustainable development, ensuring that growth aligns with local context and values. Active community governance and a strong negotiating position are essential for adapting to urban changes and preventing gentrification.

Community willpower: The motivation and drive of the local community are the greatest assets in place-based development. Place-based development projects emphasize local identity and the power of local initiatives and organizations, ensuring high local engagement and ownership.

Municipal leadership and knowledge sharing: Municipalities need concrete guidelines and in-house expertise to make informed decisions on new construction versus renovation, setting ambitious climate requirements and sharing knowledge across regions.

Holistic Integration: Sustainable planning must incorporate ecosystems, non-human life, and circularity, using dynamic data models to address complex "wicked problems" and future uncertainties.

Harnessing local potential: Prioritize leveraging existing local assets and knowledge for innovation, focusing on holistic community development rather than solely attracting external businesses. Advocate for better resource allocation and avoid one-size-fits-all solutions, emphasizing tailored designs that reflect local conditions and needs.

Prioritize place and community: Emphasize "place before space before buildings," focusing on creating cities for people, reconnecting with local assets, and considering long-term, holistic planning.

Learn from international examples: Draw inspiration from other cities to address gaps in local heritage discussions and showcase the benefits of place-based planning through innovative development strategies.

Democratic participation and collaborative planning: Effective solutions demand active citizen involvement in planning, beyond superficial engagement, particularly in response to the climate crisis. Overcome fragmented project responsibilities by fostering collaboration among architects, communities, and various stakeholders.

Collaborative networks and visualization: Build networks among stakeholders and use powerful visualizations to create shared visions, fostering collective responsibility and effective environmental restoration.

Interdisciplinary approach: Engaging diverse disciplines and local communities to reconnect society with nature, transforming challenges into opportunities for innovative and sustainable development. 

Short-Term vs. Long-Term Thinking: Economic decisions often favor immediate financial returns, overlooking the long-term opportunity costs and ecosystem services, such as flood protection.

Coexistence of culture and nature: Integrating nature-based solutions in urban development restores the balance between culture and nature, focusing on enhancing ecosystems like water and forests.

Changing the soil use narrative: A shift from viewing soil as a resource to recognizing its value in ecosystem services is essential, with EU policies playing a key role in promoting sustainable land use.

Rewetting peatlands for climate mitigation: Rewetting peat soils reduces greenhouse gas emissions and supports biomass production, aiding climate neutrality.

Challenges in land use: Nordic countries often misuse fertile land due to abundant availability, while a lack of comprehensive land use management leads to suboptimal resource utilization.

Holistic water planning: Plan beyond the immediate site to account for upstream and downstream effects and the relationship between inland and coastal water bodies to support proactive climate adaptation.

Nature-based solutions: Utilize blue-green infrastructure to provide water buffering, ecosystem support, and enhance urban resilience.

Valuing soil and regenerative agriculture: The future value of arable land hinges on global protection efforts and soil health, making regenerative agriculture essential for maintaining soil fertility and ecosystem services.

Holistic and interdisciplinary approach: Engaging diverse disciplines and local communities to reconnect society with nature, transforming challenges into opportunities for innovative and sustainable development.

Sustainable land use and policy coherence: Nordic countries often misuse fertile land due to abundant availability, while a lack of comprehensive land use management leads to suboptimal resource utilization. Nordic countries need uniform land use strategies, with policies encouraging both restrictions on harmful practices and incentives for sustainable actions.

In order to close the performance gap in reducing CO₂ emissions and mitigating the effects of climate change and damage to biodiversity and ecosystems - as identified by all interviewees - there is a need for increased knowledge, engagement, and ambitious requirements to promote circular business models and adopt new ecosystem-oriented structures. While knowledge and willingness to act according to the Paris Agreement are high, the speed of action to handle high initial costs are insufficient. A paradigm shift towards sustainable practices is needed, fostering a respectful relationship between people and their built and natural environments.

Based on the key learnings from the 24 interviews, SUSTAINORDIC can identify a set of responsibilities and suggestions for regional, national and EU policy and legislations. We can also extract suggestions for changes in practice and mindset in the building material and construction industry, the architecture profession, finance, researchers, politics and local communities. The overarching task is achieving a harmonization of building regulations across Europe while respecting regional differences. Thus, we may contribute to a culture of collaboration, emphasizing ethics and responsibility to manage increased risks associated with climate change, and develop methods to articulate and exchange knowledge derived from phenomenological data across disciplines and borders.

The transformation of Gjuteriet in Malmö, designed by Kjellander Sjöberg for Varvsstaden, focuses on the intensive re-use of repurposed materials, the project demonstrates how existing buildings can be reimagined based on circular principles.

Formerly a ruin, the distinctive building has been given a vibrant new life as an innovative and open new meeting place, a vibrant creative node in the city, and a new inspiring and experiential company headquarters for Oatly.

Throughout its radical transformation the building still tells a multifaceted story about the port’s rich maritime heritage. This is achieved through a composition wherein the new and old elements integrate into a cohesive whole, while still retaining their distinct and separate layers. 

The transformation of Gjuteriet in Malmö, designed by Kjellander Sjöberg for Varvsstaden, focuses on the intensive re-use of repurposed materials, the project demonstrates how existing buildings can be reimagined based on circular principles.

Formerly a ruin, the distinctive building has been given a vibrant new life as an innovative and open new meeting place, a vibrant creative node in the city, and a new inspiring and experiential company headquarters for Oatly.

Throughout its radical transformation the building still tells a multifaceted story about the port’s rich maritime heritage. This is achieved through a composition wherein the new and old elements integrate into a cohesive whole, while still retaining their distinct and separate layers.