Living Labs in Social Housing Upgrades: Process, Challenges and Recommendations

Bridi, Marcelle Engler; Soliman-Junior, Joao; Granja, Ariovaldo Denis; Tzortzopoulos, Patrícia; Silva, Vanessa Gomes da; Kowaltowski, Dóris Catharine Cornelie Knatz

doi:10.3390/su14052595

Cited by 11 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 64 publications

(160 reference statements)

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“…Lastly, in one of the cases, communication technology was shown to be a valuable tool in scaling up the residents' involvement early on in a project. The opportunities identified here are close to the practices in the field and could answer the calls of Baborska-Narożny and Stevenson (2019) and Bridi et al (2022) for co-learning strategies. If manufacturers were also involved in such places of encounter, then these places could function as living labs (Keyson et al, 2017), while maintaining confidentiality as needed.…”

Section: Co-learning Opportunitiessupporting

confidence: 68%

“…Baborska-Narożny and Stevenson (2019) recommended co-learning among all stakeholders (including residents) in ZE construction processes in order to increase the usability of home interfaces. However, Bridi et al (2022) and Ortiz et al (2020) report that, in particular, companies are sceptical of user-centred approaches for several reasons. Open innovation may impact intellectual property.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Let’s Get Sociotechnical: A Design Perspective on Zero Energy Renovations

Boess

2022

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The scaling up of zero energy (ZE) renovations contributes to the energy transition. Yet ZE renovations can be complex and error-prone in both process and outcome. This article draws on theory from sociotechnical design, participatory design, and inclusive design to analyse four recent case studies of ZE renovation/building in the Netherlands. The cases are studied using a mix of retrospective interviews and workshops, as well as ethnographic research. Three of the cases studied are ZE renovations of which two are recently completed and one is in progress, while the fourth case is a recently completed ZE new build. Three of the cases are social housing and one is mixed ownership. The research enquired into the situation of the project managers conducting the processes and also drew on resident experiences. The ZE renovation/builds are analysed as sociotechnical product-service systems (PSSs). The article evaluates how the use values, product values, and result values of these PSSs emerged from the processes. This perspective reveals issues with the usability of the PSSs, as well as with cost structures, technical tweaks, and maintenance agreements. Applying a design perspective provides starting points for co-learning strategies that could improve outcomes. Two example strategies that have potential in this regard are described, using demo dwellings and user manual as PSS prototypes in the early design phase. These and similar strategies could support the professionals in the field in creating successful ZE renovation/building processes.

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Section: Co-learning Opportunitiessupporting

confidence: 68%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Let’s Get Sociotechnical: A Design Perspective on Zero Energy Renovations

Boess

2022

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“…Living labs are described by existing research as an umbrella concept-methodology which includes a diverse range of research methods, tools and approaches (Leminen, 2015;Tang & Hämäläinen, 2014). Across the different methodological understandings associated with living labs, there is generally a focus on user-centred and collaborative approaches used to create and evaluate an innovation (Bridi et al, 2022;Eriksson & Kulkki, 2005).…”

Section: Living Labsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In living labs, different stakeholders actively collaborate and co-create solutions (Eriksson & Kulkki, 2005). Existing research acknowledges their application in different contexts and initiatives (Soliman-Junior et al, 2021;Bridi et al, 2022). Their use in the construction and housing domains becomes promising especially when focused on retrofit projects (Bridi et al, 2022), as motivations of these initiatives are often diverse, resulting from cultural and societal evolutions, changing comfort needs and standards, and the advent of new housing systems and technologies (Karvonen, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eliciting Requirements in Social Housing Retrofit Projects: Tools and Processes Within a Living Lab Setting

Soliman-Junior¹,

Awwal²,

Tzortzopoulos³

et al. 2022

Proc. 30th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC)

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Requirements' elicitation is a critical step in construction projects as it affects design development, construction, and ultimately, impacts on value generation. In social housing retrofit projects it becomes especially relevant due to the improvement character underlying such initiatives, which offers an opportunity to better address residents' needs, but also to consider the effects of disruption and cost implications. Despite different tools and processes being widely acknowledged by existing literature, their practical application in this type of project is often shallow and do not effectively support the definition of requirements that meet users' and other stakeholders' needs. This paper reports on preliminary findings from an ongoing research project focused on the use of living labs during the retrofit of 8 social housing dwellings in West Yorkshire, UK. It aims to better understand how different tools (i.e., Virtual Reality immersive cave, virtual walkthroughs, and value cards) are useful in the context of generating value within living labs. Key findings relate to the description of how tools were used in this context, as well as the participants' assessment of their benefits and limitations.

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“…The concept of LLs is based on the idea of creating a platform to join different viewpoints and goals of stakeholders involved in complex problem-solving where conflict and mistrust may occur. [14,3] Within uVITAL's overarching goals, three main scopes emerged for designing the Brazilian LL: What type of upgrading should be prioritized? What type of financing would be required or is available?…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers and Challenges for Implementing Sustainability-oriented Upgrading in Social Housing in Brazil

Vasconcellos

Kowaltowski

Gomes

2022

IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci.

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Social housing (SH) development is, in general, triggered by policies and regulations, which stimulate interventions, create financing mechanisms, and designate agents conducive to retrofit processes. European directives for energy efficiency and the recent call for a ‘retrofit wave’ have an evident influence. In Brazil, delivery and management of SH are based on the public offer of housing units and their immediate ownership transfer. National or state housing agencies are responsible for basic maintenance for five years, but other post-delivery interventions depend exclusively on the effort and expenses of the occupant. SH budgets leave little or no margin for extra spending and bringing SH to international sustainability standards is yet not mandatory. The issues that arise to implement upgrading in this context are therefore related to the following questions: What are the priority actions in upgrading processes? What type of financing would be required or is available? What is the project execution model and who are the stakeholders involved? This article focuses on the issue of prioritization of actions for upgrading SH. A systematic literature review examined reported sustainability-related housing improvements. A critical review of a Brazilian building label and two international sustainability assessment methods then supported ranking the upgrading actions according to the relevance assigned in their respective contexts. Finally, a panel of construction professionals provided insights regarding the technical feasibility and intrusiveness of their implementation in both single- and multi-family SH projects. Findings show that minor upgrading actions, such as changing hydraulic or electrical fixtures or landscaping, usually do not cost more than implementing them from the outcome and are equally applicable to single- and multi-family SH projects. But, when high-level (deep upgrading) interventions are on the table, costs rapidly increase due to the need to substantially change existing systems or supporting structures, which makes them often financially and/or technically unfeasible.

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Living Labs in Social Housing Upgrades: Process, Challenges and Recommendations

Cited by 11 publications

References 64 publications

Let’s Get Sociotechnical: A Design Perspective on Zero Energy Renovations

Let’s Get Sociotechnical: A Design Perspective on Zero Energy Renovations

Eliciting Requirements in Social Housing Retrofit Projects: Tools and Processes Within a Living Lab Setting

Drivers and Challenges for Implementing Sustainability-oriented Upgrading in Social Housing in Brazil

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