About Cluster for Housing Research

There is a long tradition of working with housing at the Royal Danish Academy, and at various times there have been groups focused on the topic, such as the Housing Laboratory (Boliglaboratoriet) and Kay Fisker’s work with the subject. Today, there continues to be extensive research, KUV and teaching activities focused on housing taking place across the Institutes, however, there has been very little transparency and shared knowledge about what is going on within the field at the Royal Danish Academy. 

The purpose of the cluster is to make research and KUV related to housing more visible, both internally within the Royal Danish Academy, and externally within the public domain, as a way to reach potential collaborative partners within society. The aim is to promote housing related research and KUV activities, in order to establish new collaborations both within Denmark and Internationally, and to strengthen the quality of the Royal Danish Academy’s work related to housing. The intention of the cluster is also to contribute to the Royal Danish Academy’s overall objective of foregrounding sustainability within the built environment.

Housing Research and KUV

The home has always played a decisive role in peoples’ lives. This applies to the individual, family life and even the forms in which our society is structured as a whole. The ways in which we dwell also play a decisive role in the green transition of our society, which is one of the most important challenges facing the world community today. In Denmark, housing constitutes a significant part of our resource consumption, both in terms of new construction, as well as the maintenance of existing housing stock. Our homes also form the framework for a large part of our day-to-day resource consumption, which encourages a rethinking of our housing forms as an essential part of the green transition. At the Royal Danish Academy, there are many existing research and KUV projects focused on housing, however, historically there has been a lack of a unifying platform to support them. The Cluster for Housing Research makes these existing projects more visible and creates opportunities for cross-disciplinary discussions and collaborations.

Housing research encompasses a wide range of scales and subject areas within architecture. The studies range from furniture, architectural elements and buildings to urban planning and landscape. Housing matters affect subject areas at all four architecture Institutes, including technological, historical, social and societal issues. Individually, they are essential pieces in the design of housing and together they can contribute to a holistic and sustainable way of understanding and working with housing research and KUV at the Royal Danish Academy.