NEBKrit - Quality criteria for buildings and neighbourhoods on the basis of the New European Bauhaus

Motivation and research question

The project aims to provide quality, assessment and evaluation criteria for publicly funded demonstration buildings and quarters. In addition to the sustainability criteria already introduced, aesthetics and social inclusion are to be evaluated to obtain a comprehensive picture of the architectural quality of building projects. This perspective is based on the values of the New European Bauhaus (NEB): sustainability, aesthetics and social inclusion.

Initial situation

Building culture is a holistic concept that encompasses a wide range of aspects that vary in importance depending on the case. It is therefore difficult to integrate into a category system. The Davos Quality System (Schweizer Bundesamt für Kultur 2021), a relatively new and comprehensive approach, contains eight dimensions (governance, functionality, environment, economy, diversity, context, genius loci, beauty), which include both sustainability and aesthetics. However, the topic of inclusion is not exhaustively represented here by the diversity dimension.

Project content

This project proposes to place the dimensions of aesthetics and social inclusion on an equal footing with those of sustainability based on the assessment methodology of the EU taxonomy. This integration places the model on an already established, legally secured basis throughout Europe, with which existing assessment and certification systems in the construction sector strive for fundamental harmonization.

Methodological procedure

First, existing assessment systems in the areas of environmental sustainability, aesthetics and social inclusion were examined. Possible criteria and assessment processes were discussed in two expert workshops. Based on the analysis and the workshops, a criteria and assessment model was developed, tested and evaluated by means of a practical round of test descriptions and test assessments for a total of six project examples (two each from the areas of new construction, refurbishment and urban quarters). The final model was then adapted based on the results of this assessment.

Results and Conclusions

The consolidated category model comprises 14 categories with a total of 37 criteria for the three dimensions of environmental sustainability, aesthetics and social inclusion; plus the open category of innovation as an additional dimension. The environmental sustainability dimension was defined with six categories based on the six environmental objectives of the EU taxonomy.

The broad, holistic evaluation that results from the combination of the criteria for ecological sustainability, aesthetics and social inclusion as well as the qualitative perspective allows for a better assessment of architectural projects than sectoral and purely quantitative evaluation models make it possible. The impact of an architectural project always results from the interplay of the three pillars. This is one of the most important basic ideas of the NEB. Such a holistic, qualitative assessment is also appropriate for the conceptual, strategic planning stage at which most of the projects to be assessed with the proposed model will be located. The model follows the three dimensions of the NEB and integrates the three working principles of the NEB (participation, transdisciplinarity, multi-level engagement). The development of the criteria model has shown that a qualitative approach is required for the assessment of the aesthetic criteria and (most) social inclusion criteria. In contrast, the criteria of ecological sustainability can always be traced back to quantifiable factors.

In contrast to these potentially quantifiable indicators, no comparable approach is possible in the area of aesthetics and social inclusion. For the assessment of environmental sustainability, this assessment model did not simply adopt an existing approach, but developed an adapted model in order to ensure compatibility with European systems. For Austrian applicants, reference was made to the most important Austrian assessment model for environmental sustainability, klimaaktiv, for all relevant criteria. In general, it can be stated that there is a variety of assessment models for the area of environmental sustainability. Similarly, there are long-established and well-functioning assessment methods for questions of architectural aesthetics in the form of architectural competitions. There are no comparable established forms of assessment for the field of the social. An important aspect of the proposed assessment model is that it can be used not only for external assessment, but also as a kind of guideline for the self-assessment of project concepts. In any case, the composition of the assessment board, the broad criteria model and the iterative assessment mode are key to the success of the proposed model.

Outlook

Further research and development is useful for the transfer of the present assessment model to the scale of urban quarters. Furthermore, a more comprehensive study of existing assessment models should be undertaken at European level and all activities relating to qualification for the NEB should be brought together. Further development with regard to broader social criteria would also be useful. Finally, it should be investigated and tested in practice how such broad and qualitative assessment models can be used for other subsidy schemes.

Project management

Plattform Baukulturpolitik

Project or cooperation partners

IBR & I Institute of Building Research & Innovation ZT GmbH

Plattform Baukulturpolitik
Robert Temel
Wipplingerstraße 23/3
A-1010 Wien
Tel.: +43 6991 9467310
E-Mail: robert.temel@baukulturpolitik.at
Web: www.baukulturpolitik.at