Stakeholders’ Perception in Early Stages of a Social Housing Retrofit Living Lab

Abstract

Living Labs (LLs) are social and dynamic environments that allow the development of innovative solutions through intense collaboration and co-creation. In social housing (SH), retrofit initiatives usually consist of top-down approaches, with residents often playing a secondary role in such projects. The use of LLs in SH projects can improve retrofit outcomes through the development of adequate and fit for purpose solutions, co-created with stakeholders. Whereas existing research on LLs reports successful developments in several areas, research findings are often fragmented. They lack an in-depth discussion on the benefits and limitations, as well as how different stakeholders engage in the LLs. This paper aims to discuss stakeholders’ perceptions in the early stages of a SH retrofit LL in the UK, focused on improving the energy efficiency of 8 dwellings. We conducted a series of semi-structured interviews with stakeholders involved in the LL (e.g. residents, retrofit coordinator, architects, among others). Findings highlight difficulties associated with the LL initiation, partially due to communication problems and lack of alignment, but also because of intrinsic behavioural, institutional, and technical issues related to construction projects. Results suggest that collaboration is needed in LLs not only to co-create solutions but also to develop the LL itself.