New-build Housing Research Articles

Downsizing and the use of timber as embodied carbon reduction strategies for new-build housing: A partial life cycle assessment

The 2050 decarbonization goals coupled with the growing housing shortage in Europe intensify the pressure on new-build dwellings to enhance their energy performance. Beyond a zero operational energy, the focus has shifted towards reducing embodied carbon (EC). Against this backdrop, this study investigates the simultaneous impact of downsizing and the use of timber in new-build dwellings, EC reduction strategies seldom explored concurrently. Through partial life cycle assessments, three scenarios are modelled: the Small, Medium, and Large House, with two construction variations for each, comparing a modular timber design to a conventional concrete alternative. Designs are based on dwellings built in Almere, the Netherlands. Data is extracted from the Swiss Ecoinvent database using the TOTEM tool and the static −1/+1 approach for biogenic carbon accounting is adopted. Results show a total EC ranging from 42,608 to 70,384 kgCO2eq for the timber designs versus 54,681 to 91,270 kgCO2eq for their concrete counterparts. Findings suggest that the relationship between house size and EC is sublinear whereby a house twice the size entails less than twice the EC emissions. Only the simultaneous implementation of downsizing and the use of timber achieved 53% carbon savings. The discussion explores implications of outcomes across academic, industry and policy perspectives, challenges in implementing smaller timber dwellings, and study limitations and future research. Beyond its empirical contribution, this paper offers a practical contribution with its hierarchical data analysis approach covering building, element and component. This approach can be implemented by researchers and practitioners alike to inform their design process.

Analysing the rising price of new private housing in the UK: A national accounting approach

Discussion of the price of private new-build housing is dominated by land price, but is this the most important element? Other factors are examined for increasing prices, using the rich and robust datasets produced by government departments and agencies. In organising these complex datasets a Sankey diagram is introduced to explain the relationship between type of trade and type of work to show the relative importance of prices. The land value component has been trending downwards, so is not a factor in the rising prices of new private dwellings. Prices of components, other than land value, are obtained from gross fixed capital formation data and construction output. When corrected for inflation, these have risen by factors of 1.7 and 2.0, respectively, over 1998–2018. By including the self-employed, the total labour per new-build private dwelling is derived which has risen 2.4 to 3.0 man-years over 2011–2020. Since 2000, construction companies’ gross operating surplus per job has risen much faster than compensation of employees per job. This extra gross operating surplus, which can be associated with profit, totalled £11.6b in 2019 reaching £70k (at 2016 prices) per new private dwelling in 2019. Rising prices have created the opportunity for housebuilders to extract larger profits.

Overcome data gaps to benchmark building stocks against climate targets related to the EU taxonomy and other decarbonisation initiatives

National disclosure regulation is more and more flanked by stricter requirements of climate reporting. Industry stakeholders with more than 250 employees will for example be required to report on the share of their CAPEX and OPEX that is in line with the 2050 climate targets of the EU. Financial institutions are required to declare how much of their investment is in 2050 target compatible assets. Investment in buildings is an important part of such reporting and there is need of a robust approach and method to be used. The presented project developed such an approach. With reference to the work of the EU Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance and the Climate Bond Initiative (CBI), generally applicable criteria for buildings have been determined and calculated for the example of Switzerland. They are based on a best-in-class approach. While the EU Technical Taxonomy refers to the top 15% of buildings in terms of primary energy demand, CBI uses CO2-emissions as a benchmark. To compare the current state of buildings sector with these criteria, a distributional building stock model is used, which also addresses the fact that the data availability on energy efficiency and climate compatibility of the building stock is unsatisfactory in many European countries including Switzerland. To be easily applicable in practice, the criteria are mainly based on two dimensions: on the one hand, on the requirements of codes (in Switzerland the model regulations of the Cantons, MuKEn) and widely used standards and labels (Minergie, GEAK), and on the other hand, on the energy sources used for the generation of space heat and hot water. The study shows that ecologically sustainable, climate-compatible building financing can always be assumed in Switzerland if one of the following two criteria are met for new buildings: multi-family, office or other non-residential buildings according to Minergie from 1998 on, MuKEn from 2000 on or GEAK B that use heat-pumps, wood, pellets or solar energy. Or, any building with Minergie from 2009 on label, MuKEn 2014 or GEAK A that use heat pumps, wood, pellets, solar energy or district heating based on non-fossil energy. In the context of increased pressure on resources, it is important to acknowledge the climate-compatibility of older buildings as well (and to not only consider newly which would generate a bias towards resource intensive building of new houses).

La périurbanisation de la pauvreté : politique de soutien à la propriété et inégalités socio-spatiales en France

Cet article examine le rôle joué par les prêts aidés dans l’accès à la propriété et la ségrégation résidentielle des ménages modestes en France. Au cours de la période 1996-2006, le Prêt à taux zéro a bénéficié à 1,4 million de ménages et constitue la principale mesure pour favoriser l’accession à la propriété. L’analyse s’appuie sur les enquêtes Logement (Insee), les registres administratifs du Prêt à taux zéro (SFGFAS) et des entretiens approfondis auprès d’accédants. Elle compare la position de différentes catégories socioprofessionnelles sur le marché du logement avant et après l’introduction du programme. Dans un contexte de hausse des prix de l’immobilier, on constate que le Prêt à taux zéro a limité l’exclusion des ménages modestes du marché du logement neuf, en particulier en dehors de la région parisienne. Pour autant, les ménages ayant bénéficié d’un Prêt à taux zéro ont eu tendance à s’installer plus souvent dans les zones périurbaines et rurales, caractérisées par une moindre proportion de cadres et de professions intellectuelles supérieures si on les compare aux centres villes. De plus, les entretiens suggèrent que les ménages modestes n’avaient pas une perception claire de l’éloignement géographique généré par l’accession à la propriété, ni de ses conséquences sur leur mode de vie et l’accès à certains services publics (systèmes collectifs de garde d’enfants, transports en commun, lycées, opportunités d’emplois).

A Girl’s Life in English Interwar Suburbia: Evadne Price’s Just Jane

Just Jane, the first of a series of books for young female readers written by the Australian-English writer Evadne Price, was published in 1928. The young heroine starring in the book and the members of her family represent the typical middle-class family living in an English suburban area, a type of neighbourhood which underwent an unprecedented growth during the 1920s. This article analyses Price’s text in the light of the new lifestyle fostered in English interwar suburbia, as it illustrates how, together with the building of new houses and neighbourhoods, new values concerning family relations, gender roles, social networking and leisure activities were generated and promoted.

An investigation into zero-carbon planning policy for new-build housing

Housing represents a critical sector globally in the drive to reduce carbon emissions with many countries adopting building energy standards to lower the carbon emissions of new build housing. However, ambition is often inadequate when considering the long-life time of homes built today. Globally, many regional or local authorities are taking action to improve the performance standards of new build housing beyond national requirements, though application within nations is heterogeneous. Understanding of why adoption of performance standards displays this diversity represents a research gap. The present work sets out to determine why the application of local planning powers relating to lowering emissions in new-build housing have been inconsistently implemented within local level planning policy. This is achieved through an explanatory sequential mixed method design targeted towards all local authorities within the case study nation of England. It is found that uncertainty following the withdrawal of national level agendas has led to a policy void for many local authorities, with many now suffering from a lack of policy power to enforce lower carbon standards. Drivers of heterogeneous uptake of standards at a local level have international relevance and indicate the need for clear central governance to facilitate local level ambition.

Rights over “The Property of Another” (Iura in re aliena) in Byzantine and Mediaeval Serbian Law

In some cases, when a person owned property, his rights over such property might be limited. The most important rights over another’s property, mentioned by Byzantine law and accepted in mediaeval Serbian legal sources are servitudes, pledge and emphyteusis. The rules on servitudes (δουλεία – rabota) penetrated in Serbian law at the beginning of 13th century, when Saint Sabba (Свети Сава) incorporated in his “Nomokanon” the whole Byzantine “Procheiron”. Its chapter XXXVIII, under the title “On novelties” (Περὶ καινοτομιῶν), contains different provisions, concerning the servitudes, mixed with administrative rules on building the new houses. That was the reason why Serbian translators of “Procheiron” entitled this chapter as “On building of new houses, reconstruction of the old and other things”. While the chapter XXXVIII of “Procheiron” contains 64 provisions, Matheas Blastares took in his “Syntagma” only 18, and created a short Chapter K-3 under the same title “On novelties” (“O novotvorenxhь” in Serbian translation). It contains, beside different decrees and prohibitions by administrative authorities, some urban servitudes, that could be changed by special agreements (συμφώνον – sьglasi«). Byzantine legal miscellanies always put together the rules on pledge in the same chapter with the provisions on loan, although modern legal science treats pledge as a part of the law of property and loan as a real contract and the part of the law of obligation. The chapter X of “Ecloga” has a title “On literal and unliteral loans and for them given pledges”; the chapter XVI of “Procheiron” is known under the title “On loan and pledge” and the chapter XXVIII of “Epanagoge” entitled “On loans and pledges”. For this reason, Matheas Blastares included the chapter Δ-2 under the title “On lenders, and loan, and pledges” in his “Syntagma”. Among Serbian legal sources, pledge was mentioned only in a few documents: these are so called “Justinian’s Law” (art. 26 and 27); King Milutin’s chrysobull, granted to the Hilandar’s pyrgos in Chrousija; King Dušan’s chrysobull, giving the church of Most Holy Virgin in Lipljan to the Hilandar’s pyrgos in Chrousija; and Dušan’s “Law Code” (art. 90). The chapter XV of the “Procheiron” has the title “On emphyteusis” and contains six provisions, speaking on emphyteusis of Church estates. Matheas Blastares introduced a short Chapter E-8, entitled “On emphyteusis” (“O nasa`denîi” in Serbian translation), in his “Syntagma”. Its chapter represents an interpretation of Justinian’s Novella CXX, chapters 2 and 8. In Serbian legal sources we can not find any information on emphyteusis.

Decarbonising the UK residential sector: The dependence of national abatement on flexible and local views of the future

The UK has some of the worst performing residential buildings in the EU from an energy efficiency perspective. Natural gas remains a dominant feature of existing and new-build housing with strong historical, technical, and social barriers to change. Consequently, the residential sector is responsible for significant shares of national emissions and has a strong role to play under ambitious net zero targets.To assess this role, this work combines long-term system-wide optimisation modelling with heat and electricity network models of representative residential locations. The scenario framework investigates key heating alternatives across futures with dwindling carbon budgets but lower restrictions on residential investment options. Comparing frameworks offers insights into “real life” applicability of technology solutions consistent with system-wide decarbonisation pathways to 2050.Residential sector heat plays an increasing role in lowering emissions as targets tighten. Moving away from natural gas becomes unavoidable and long-term trajectories combine end-use electrification, at household or collective levels, with supply-side decarbonisation. This is preferable to alternative gases that continue to carry uncertain emission impacts, but requires significant local network reinforcement. This could be deferred where technically difficult using near-term hybrid approaches. Enabling this transition will rely on policies that support open and varied technology portfolios.

Evaluation of vernacular and new housing indoor comfort conditions in cold climate – a field survey in eastern Turkey

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to compare vernacular and new houses in terms of indoor occupant satisfaction and thermal and visual comfort in a region with cold climatic conditions. In line with the data obtained, the contribution of passive design techniques to comfort in housing indoor will be revealed.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, the comfort conditions to be provided in a residence were determined and evaluated in Bingol with the help of questionnaires applied on vernacular and new houses. The information gathered from the occupants and the survey study was mainly designed for three purposes: (i) acquiring general information about houses; (ii) acquiring general information about occupants; and (iii) inquiring about the physical comfort satisfaction of the occupants (thermal comfort and visual comfort).FindingsAlthough the average occupant satisfaction in terms of thermal performance in vernacular houses in summer and winter is 3.91, this average is 2.01 for new houses. The average of the general visual comfort of occupants in vernacular houses is 3.59, whereas this rate is 2.63 in new houses. According to the data obtained, occupant satisfaction was higher in vernacular houses than in new houses. In general, the new settlement area is designed and positioned independently of climate and environmental conditions. This situation increases the need to use mechanical systems to provide indoor thermal comfort conditions. The increase in the need for mechanical systems leads to a significant increase in energy expenditures, as well as deterioration of health conditions in places.Research limitations/implicationsTo ensure occupant satisfaction, indoor thermal comfort conditions and healthy environments, vernacular houses should be an example for the design and building of new houses in terms of orientation, environment relations, space dimensions and space usage in accordance with the character of the region and material selection.Originality/valueThere has not been a serious research on bioclimatic, socioeconomic and cultural sustainability of the vernacular architecture of Bingol. Therefore, this region has been preferred as the study area.

Prioritising local housing needs through land-use planning in rural areas: Political theatre or amenity protection?

This paper examines housing investment pressures and the local planning response in St Ives, Cornwall, where a Neighbourhood Development Plan introduced a principal residence restriction affecting all new-build homes in the locality in 2016. Ostensibly, the objective of this policy is to reserve new-build housing for local residents, thereby delivering improved housing market access for those needing to live and work in the area, who are seen to have greater claim on local resources. However, our study of the anticipated impacts of ‘Policy H2‘, drawing on semi-structured interviews with key policy informants and resident representatives, highlights concerns amongst long-term residents and working households as to the economic impacts of the policy relative to its impacts on housing access. Greater support for the policy was found to exist among in-migrant and retired households, who view the policy as a means of slowing development, preserving local character, and defending property values. Evidence from prior experiments with residence restrictions in the Lake District and elsewhere suggest that an overall reduction in house building (triggered by a shrinking of the market of eligible homebuyers) and a shift in demand by investors from new homes to the second-hand market can elevate house-prices and reduce overall housing affordability. Local needs planning policies may be politically expedient, with local politicians responding to a call to action, but they also carry the risk of unintended consequences.

The Global Financial Crisis and neighborhood decline

The Global Financial Crisis and neighborhood decline

Indoor Radon Concentration Related to Different Radon Areas and Indoor Radon Prediction

Indoor radon has been observed in the buildings at areas with different radon risk potential. Preventive measures are based on control of main potential radon sources (soil gas, building material and supplied water) to avoid building of new houses above recommended indoor radon level 200 Bq/m3. Radon risk (index) estimation of individual building site bedrock in case of new house siting and building protection according technical building code are obligatory. Remedial actions in buildings built at high radon risk areas were carried out principally by unforced ventilation and anti-radon insulation. Significant differences were found in the level of radon concentration between rooms where radon reduction techniques were designed and those where it was not designed. The mathematical model based on radon exhalation from soil has been developed to describe the physical processes determining indoor radon concentration. The model is focused on combined radon diffusion through the slab and advection through the gap from sub-slab soil. In this model, radon emanated from building materials is considered not having a significant contribution to indoor radon concentration. Dimensional analysis and Gauss-Newton nonlinear least squares parametric regression were used to simplify the problem, identify essential input variables and find parameter values. The presented verification case study is introduced for real buildings with respect to various underground construction types. Presented paper gives picture of possible mathematical approach to indoor radon concentration prediction.

Kleinräumige Wohnbauflächenprognosen – ein quantitativ orientiertes Instrument zur Reduktion der Flächenneuinanspruchnahme für Wohnzwecke

As part of their preparation of or updates to land-use plans, as well as the development of strategically oriented concepts, local planning authorities need long-term projections of future housing and land-use development, which also help to show future land requirements in order to fulfil the basic need of “living”. However, compared to unrestrained building of new houses and flats, it should always be taken into account that there are ways to save yet unused land, as well as alternative approaches to saving land on a communal level. This raises the question of which methodological improvements in residential area forecasts – when compared to existing approaches – are needed to provide this important information for planning practice. Forecasting approaches at local level are especially important as actual land-use planning is carried out at this administrative level. In addition, the consideration of future housing requirements of households is necessary in order to gain a realistic view of the anticipated demand of land for living. Regarding the offer of residential areas, the integration of available building land is essential to ensure that residential area forecasts are able to contribute as part of an approach to save unused land. Similarly, the derivation of possible alternative scenarios supports land conservation, as this can demonstrate creative ideas and approaches for urban planning regarding land conservation. Also, regular land-use monitoring is essential for the control of land claims for housing in terms of sustainable development of residential areas, and therefore requires the production of scenarios relating to the future needs of housing areas at reasonable intervals.English title: Small-Scale Forecast of Residential Building Area – A Quantitatively Oriented Tool for Reducing the Amount of Land Used for Residential Purposes

Key stakeholders’ perspectives towards UK new-build housing defects

PurposeResearch on housing defects has limited its enquiry to the classifications of defects, potential impact of defects, and their detection and remediation during construction and the builder’s liability period, without considering the warranty period. The purpose of this paper is to better understand which impacts of defects are perceived as important by the key stakeholders involved in their detection and remediation over the construction, builder’s liability and insurer’s warranty periods.Design/methodology/approachThe questionnaire survey approach was used. The questionnaire distribution list was drawn from the UK’s largest warranty provider (WP) and approved inspector’s records. The questionnaire was distributed to 2003 people, receiving 292 responses, a response rate of 15 per cent.FindingsThis research challenges the assertion that the house building industry (i.e. house builders (HBs), building inspectors and WPs) is predominantly cost focussed and finds that the potential impact of defects on home occupants (HOs) are their primary concern. In contrast, the HOs’ appear solely focussed on the disruption defects caused on their daily lives and perceive a lack customer focus in the house building industry.Originality/valueThis study provides empirical evidence of the contrasting view of the house building industry and HOs with respect to the prioritisation of the impacts of defects. Further, this research offers HBs an alternative approach to determine which defects should be targeted for reduction purposes which may lead to improved levels of customer satisfaction.

Climate policy cost-benefit model application for successful Central European building retrofitting programs—A Hungarian case study

In general, European Union Member States attribute great importance to the building sector in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions as part of their climate policy strategies. The present study is aimed at studying what happens if decision-makers do not take any prominent measures to ensure that the building sector realizes more efficient performance. The current European tendencies indicate that the most common approach is to attempt to renovate the existing building stock. However, this is not always the best solution. In Central and Eastern European countries, such as Hungary, the greatest problem encountered in renovations is the outdated heating and electricity supply of the old buildings. Many experts are convinced that these buildings should be demolished now and replaced with new ones in order to achieve more effective performance. This study, besides the environmental matters presents a climate policy-related economic evaluation which strengthens the latter opinion. The purpose of this novel cost effectiveness analysis is to examine the long-term viability of these two approaches (retrofitting strategy vs. the building of new houses) from the aspect of both environmental conformity (climate friendliness) and sustainable economics between 2020 and 2030.

Meta-analysis of indoor temperatures in new-build housing

ABSTRACTDespite growing concerns about overheating, a lack of evidence exists on the scale of the problem, particularly in contemporary UK housing. This paper presents the results of a meta-analysis of indoor temperatures in selected low-energy housing. Temperature data recorded at five-minute intervals in 60 dwellings across 19 demonstration projects (2012–14) were collated and analysed to investigate the prevalence of overheating. Findings evidence high summertime temperatures, with 27% of living rooms exceeding 28°C during August. Based on the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) threshold of 5% annual occupied hours > 25°C, 57% of bedrooms and 75% of living rooms were classified as having overheated. Overall, 30% of living rooms exceeded the adaptive comfort threshold of > 3% occupied hours ΔT ≥ 1 K. The results suggest a fundamental relationship between ventilation and indoor temperatures. The higher minimum and average summertime temperatures observed in mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) homes (p < 0.05) and lower temperature range (p < 0.001) suggest the need for greater attention to adequate summertime ventilation provision in airtight homes. The results demonstrate a high prevalence of overheating in exemplary housing, indicating the need for greater efforts to ensure the effective implementation of strategies to minimize overheating and improve ventilation in low-energy homes.

Detecting defects in the UK new-build housing sector: a learning perspective

Rapid growth in the production of new homes in the UK is putting build quality under pressure as evidenced by an increase in the number of defects. Housing associations (HAs) contribute approximately 20% of the UK’s new housing supply. HAs are currently experiencing central government funding cuts and rental revenue reductions. As part of HAs’ quest to ramp up supply despite tight budget conditions, they are reviewing how they learn from defects. Learning from defects is argued as a means of reducing the persistent defect problem within the UK housebuilding industry, yet how HAs learn from defects is under-researched. The aim of this research is to better understand how HAs, in practice, learn from past defects to reduce the prevalence of defects in future new homes. The theoretical lens for this research is organizational learning. The results drawn from 12 HA case studies indicate that effective organizational learning has the potential to reduce defects within the housing sector. The results further identify that HAs are restricting their learning to focus primarily on reducing defects through product and system adaptations. Focusing on product and system adaptations alone suppresses HAs’ abilities to reduce defects in the future.

Newbuild gentrification, tele-urbanization and urban growth: placing the cities of the post-Communist South in the gentrification debate

This paper explores new-build developments in Tbilisi, Georgia. Based on interviews with developers and with residents and neighbours of new-build developments, we examine the burgeoning of new-build housing projects in a lower middle income post-Communist country. By doing so, we respond to Lees’ (2012) recent call for the exploration of new horizons in gentrification research, which would allow us to transcend the boundaries established by Global-North theorizations – such as those surrounding “new-build gentrification”. While theoretically tantalizing, interpreting the observed developments through this lens, which a superficial observation of the phenomenon might encourage, is not fruitful. Instead, the case of Tbilisi illustrates the need for an appropriate assessment of context: rather than representing a revanchist return to the city of the middle classes, new-builds in Tbilisi appear, largely, to accommodate demographic growth and “deposited” diaspora capital. This, in turn, leads to intense rates of construction despite high vacancy rates – a process which could be viewed as a form of remote-controlled urban growth, or tele-urbanization.

Quantifying the extent of space shortages: English dwellings

Lack of internal space is a problem in UK homes, and is often linked to a lack of space standards for housing in the UK. Although previous studies have examined new-build housing, this paper uses a new method to study 16 000 dwellings in the English Housing Survey (EHS) 2010 to examine existing housing and compare them with a modern space standard in an attempt to quantify the extent and magnitude of the problem. Dwellings in the survey were compared against a slightly modified version of the London Housing Design Guide 2010 internal space standard. It was found that between 21% and 55% of dwellings failed to meet the standard; and that flats and small terraced houses were most commonly below the standard. Dwellings were also frequently found to be under-occupied in comparison with the number of bedrooms. This research hypothesized that this was a result of the lack of space. To illustrate the use of this new analysis method, a recent change to the Housing Benefit system (colloquially known as the ‘Bedroom Tax’) has been considered. Households receiving Housing Benefit were more likely to be undersized, suggesting that the policy to withdraw housing benefits from these households may be misguided.

The sustainable management of surface water at the building scale: preliminary results of case studies in the UK and Spain

This paper reviews the devices suitable for building scale application and then outlines three case studies, two from Coventry, UK and one from Valencia, Spain. The first assesses the potential to retrofit an extensive green roof to the Frederick Lanchester Library, Coventry University. Costings are given, the structural strength of the building is investigated and various benefits of its installation, including potential to sequester and store carbon, are assessed. The second reports part of the AQUAVAL Project, Spain, whereby an extensive green roof was retrofitted to half of a school roof and porous concrete retrofitted to a pavement. Preliminary monitoring results show expected benefits, including attenuation of the storm peak and increased time to peak. The third case study using WinDes ® software compared a conventionally drained new-build housing estate with a Sustainable Drainage Systems train of porous paving, bioretention and swales. Stormwater volume was reduced by ∼20% and peak flow by >250 L s –1 . Addition of extensive green roofs to all buildings increased these differences and delayed return to baseflow conditions reflecting water stored in the management train components.