This housing prototype shows the way to affordable decarbonization

There is no pathway to a low-carbon and sustainable future that does not run through cities. According to data from the International Renewable Energy Agency, cities account for about 75% of global primary energy use. They are responsible for 70% of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. Cities are, therefore, key actors in national and global efforts to transition to a net-zero future.

Globally, the building industry is responsible for over a third of the world’s entire carbon dioxide emissions and, in the European Union, around 40% of energy consumption. At the same time, the average person spends around 90% of their time indoors, making the impact of the quality of that indoor space enormous in terms of people’s health, wellbeing and, consequently, their overall performance.

For example, students in member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) spend 800-900 hours a year in school, most of which is spent in buildings. A review of multiple studies captured by RAND Europe for VELUX's Healthy Homes Barometer 2019 found that improved air quality could boost student performance by up to 15%, positively affecting working speed, attention level and concentration.

At the same time, the average person spends around 90% of their time indoors, making the impact of the quality of that indoor space enormous in terms of people’s health, wellbeing, and, consequently, their overall performance.

The pathway for improvement has already been laid out. The International Energy Organization’s roadmap for “net zero emissions by 2050” sets a clear vision for sustainable buildings across their entire life cycle. That includes manufacturing construction products, operations and recycling of buildings at their end of life.

The intermediate target is to make all new buildings operationally net-zero by 2030 and reduce the embodied carbon in materials by a minimum of 40% by 2030. Now, we just need to execute the plan.

That’s why we opened the door to Living Places Copenhagen in April this year. This future-of-housing prototype proves that we can build with a carbon footprint three times lower than the average Danish new build house while having a first-class indoor climate at an affordable and scalable level. Seven houses were constructed in a colony-like configuration in the Danish capital, designated the 2023 World Capital of Architecture by UNESCO.

We have undertaken full-scale building and renovation experiments for many years. By monitoring these buildings and studying their interaction with their occupants, we have created a blueprint for future buildings that offers solutions to some of the most important societal and environmental issues. We applied all these past learnings and teamed up with our partners EFFEKT and Artelia for this latest venture, built to coincide with Copenhagen being the International Capital of Architecture 2023.

Each building component has been optimized for the best constellation of price, indoor climate and carbon footprint, with a particular focus given to the envelope of the building where significant carbon dioxide savings can be achieved. The building itself is carbon-negative through most of its lifecycle due to the selection of biogenic materials that store carbon throughout the building’s lifetime and are also circular. It is designed to be taken apart easily to recycle the used building materials completely.

To get there, the project team prioritized sustainability from the start of the design process, carefully choosing the materials and methods of construction, with costs also in mind. All the materials used in the project are off-the-shelf and the project came in at an average price point for a Danish new build. Strong, open collaboration existed between the owner, architect, engineer and constructor throughout the process. We also need more collaboration in our industry and broader ecosystem, engaging as many interested parties as possible. That’s why our learnings and all relevant information about this project are available to everyone.

Living Places Copenhagen clearly shows that we can have sustainable buildings and healthy, affordable homes at a scalable level today. But it requires a rethink of how and when we build and renovate. Part of that will be ensuring we unleash all benefits to enable a sustainable future – from a climate, energy, nature, economic and social perspective.

In short, we must take a more holistic approach to planning and managing our communities, with our building stock at their heart and set our regulatory framework for the built environment accordingly.

As businesses, particularly as a company in the building sector, we carry a big responsibility to reduce our emissions and help facilitate cities and other stakeholders to meet their targets.

It requires action and cooperation. We can achieve so much together by partnering up, sharing knowledge and working across different disciplines by concretely reshaping our building stock and being ambitious so the right standards are met.