Articles and blog posts about the built environment

Housing companies, architects, and sustainability teams are under pressure to cut emissions, use space efficiently, and support social sustainability. Shared housing models like co-living and co-housing can help resolve these challenges and recent actions by the Swedish government may make the development of shared housing much easier.

Although reuse is often highlighted as an obvious part of sustainable construction, there are several challenges that affect how building components and materials can be utilized. The issue is not just about technology, regulations, or economics, but also about processes and cooperation between different actors. When the availability and dimensions of materials are not known in advance, it is necessary to build in room for different options already in the detailed planning stage—something that today's planning and building permit processes, which are adapted for new construction with standardized building products, have difficulty handling.

Catastrophic fires, those with exceptional costs or many casualties are increasing. What can be done about this? Researcher Johan Sjöström explains why fires in southern Europe are becoming increasingly severe and how common birch trees can help to reduce similar risks in Sweden.

Climate change is making heatwaves more frequent and intense, even in cold countries like those in the Nordic region. This creates new challenges for our buildings, which are designed to retain heat rather than release it. RISE is addressing this pressing issue from several angles.

What if the buildings around us are quietly reshaping our minds? RISE researchers have developed a groundbreaking framework proposing that our built environments might fundamentally influence brain function.

We spend more than 90 percent of our lives indoors. But what if the very buildings designed to protect us are quietly undermining our health? Emerging research, within the field of neuroarchitecture and neurodesig, suggests that certain architectural features – from narrow hallways to windowless rooms – may trigger subtle but chronic stress responses that, over time, could contribute to serious illness.

What if the places we live and work in could affect more than just our moods — what if they could influence the very health of our brains? This is the question driving Cleo Valentine, Senior Researcher and Innovation Lead at RISE, and PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge. Her research sits at the crossroads of architecture, neuroscience, and immunology, in the emerging field of neuroarchitecture.

Many companies face the challenge of managing chemical issues that are becoming increasingly complex due to new regulations and rising expectations for transparency. For Blåbær Production AS, a chemical crisis in 2015 marked the starting point for a change in their way of working. Through collaboration with the Chemicals Group at RISE, the company has built up knowledge, structures, and processes to work more systematically with chemical management.

With the help of common guidelines, known as industry recommendations, contractors, designers, and builders can ensure that they meet the functional requirements of the Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning's new building regulations. As an independent third party, RISE has developed a verification program that makes the recommendations safe and reliable tools for the construction sector - a clear testament to credibility and quality.

A groundbreaking index in the emerging field of neurodesign and neuroarchitecture could transform the way we plan and invest in our cities, schools, and workplaces. Drawing on brain science and AI, researchers can now measure how physical environments influence our health, cognition, and overall wellbeing – with the ambition to set a new global standard for the built environments of tomorrow.

Showers are one of the biggest energy guzzlers in the home. But now, the technology to change this has been given the green light. With type approval and the go-ahead from industry bodies for its heat-recovery floor drain, the start-up company Enduce is ready to enter the market.

New technology met history when RISE and the Swedish National Heritage Board joined forces in an AI project. Together, the two parties have developed an innovative method for identifying and classifying heritage buildings. The method can become an important piece of the puzzle when Sweden's built heritage becomes part of the green transition.

Giving used products a new life is not only a sustainable solution—it can also make strong business sense. Join Husqvarna Construction on its journey towards a more circular business model. “We see both environmental and economic benefits in reintroducing products to the market,” says Adam Björk, Sustainability Director at Husqvarna Construction.

Sweden's largest initiative for sustainable cities, Climate Neutral Cities 2030, is stepping up. 48 of Sweden's 290 municipalities are coming together to tackle the climate crisis. In just five years, the original nine cities in the initiative have now become 48. According to Lars Johansson, change leader and transition strategist at RISE and part of the Viable Cities program office, the ambition is for all Swedish municipalities to become climate neutral, and it is not an impossibility. The initiative is driven by Viable Cities, which is one of Sweden's national strategic innovation programs.

More and more individuals and property owners are investing in solar panels, and the market is growing rapidly. Patrik Ollas, researcher at RISE and former industrial PhD student at Chalmers, published his thesis on battery storage and solar energy in the spring, looking at new opportunities for the technology.

Requirements to reduce the environmental impact of buildings are becoming increasingly stringent, including the EU's EPBD directive. One challenge will be to have a complete picture in order to implement the right measures at the right time.