Vulnerabilities and resilience in Danish housing stock: A comparative study of architectural answers to climate change in Danish housing in relation to other oceanic climates

Mikkel Poulsen Rydborg,Camilla Brunsgaard,Michael Lauring,S.I Tanabe,J Kurnitski,G Cao,L Mazzarela,C Inard,M.C Gameiro Da Silva,P Wargocki,H Zhang,I Nastase

doi:10.1051/e3sconf/201911103068

Abstract

Climate change will affect the same climate zones relatively similarly. When considering how to design residential architecture for future climates it is therefore relevant to understand how residential architecture can adapt within the specific climate zone. Denmark is placed within the oceanic climate zone and shares many of the same problems that countries in similar climates do. However, the architectural responses have developed radically different. Denmark has been building heating efficient housing for the last decade, which have lately caused increased overheating problems and surging energy demands for cooling. This paper compares the architecture of different oceanic zones with Danish architecture. The strategies for adapting to climate change represents a broad variety. Western European tradition has itself created varied methods for coping with the climatic struggles their societies meet. Danish architecture has for centuries been focused on heavy robust constructions that would withstand the large amount of precipitation and wind that is predominant in the country. In Holland flood danger has been a constant threat to society, which has led both to defensive and reactive measures in the form of dykes and amphibious housing. On the other side of the globe, New Zealand’s traditional architecture has adapted to similar problems but with a much lighter construction, leading to architecture that is resilient to lateral forces like wind and earthquakes. While lacking the thermal properties of northern European houses the New Zealand homes show a remarkable flexibility and mobility through simple timber-frame constructions. The vulnerabilities in the Danish building stock is due to an unwillingness to invest in adaptive measures. It might be necessary to integrate a flexible building style to future sustainable housing and build up a different expectation for how a house is used. In the face of climate change, architecture need to be adapted to the problems apparent on the building site and draw on experiences from other cultures that might have faced similar problems in the past. Danish architects might likewise use the non-rocky ground for water retention through planting and landscaping strategies in relation to architecture.

Highlights

Climate change is the defining issue of our time
The results presented in this paper are based on an extensive literature study, both on the subject of climate change adaptation of architecture, and on regional
The potential adaptation to climate change in oceanic residential architecture might be found in the bioclimatic designs features of the regions, since it is already part of the local building culture, and requires little behavioral attunement for the inhabitants of the buildings

Summary

Introduction

Climate change is the defining issue of our time. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has just recently issued its latest report giving humanity only a small window to escape the most devastating effects of climate change [1],[2].This paper focus on three case countries, Denmark, Holland and New Zealand. Investigations into each country’s bioclimatic approach in the typical house are made; what vulnerabilities each country face concerning climate change in the housing stock and what potentials for climate change adaptation exist in the residential architecture. The studies presented in this paper are based on the ideas of bioclimatic and natural resilience in architecture, where resilience and adaptation to climate change can be improved through the integration of landscape and natural elements as part of the architectural design. Understanding vulnerabilities and the adaptive capacity in different countries within the same climate zone can be valuable in determining how the residential architecture in oceanic climates should meet the challenge of climate change. Economy is a key issue that needs to be addressed in the realm of climate change adaptation. The discussion presented in this paper will be from a position of improving residential architecture within the realm of economic reason for the inhabitants

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