Agency and capacity in the planning and design phase of building renovations

Abstract

AbstractThe building sector is a large energy consumer and is responsible for high CO2 emissions; hence, improving the energy performance of buildings is vital. Building renovations open opportunities to improve their energy performance.Building professionals and other actors in the early phase of renovations decide what energy efficiency and saving measures will be implemented. Their role is studied here from a middle-out perspective (MOP), investigating the different actors’ agency and capacity. Agency refers here to an interest in and a willingness to implement energy efficiency and saving measures, and capacity refers to the ability to implement such measures. Higher agency and capacity are said to increase the realisation of the planned energy efficiency and saving measures.The data was gathered during three planning and design phases of renovation projects of a municipal housing company in a middle-sized Swedish town. A case study was conducted which is based on semi-structured interviews with actors from the planning and design phase of the renovations, as well as participant observations and a document analysis.The levels of agency and capacity of professionals in the middle of a project’s planning and design phase are investigated thoroughly, but the here defined top and bottom levels are also in focus. The analysis shows that a mismatch in agency and capacity on the different levels hindered the uptake of energy efficiency and saving measures in the planning and design of the renovation projects.