M a s s H o u s i n g a n d S u s t a i n a b i l i t y
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has been in power apart from shorter breaks and with or without partners since The
Second World War, this situation is remarkable. In a super rich and oil exporting
economy, how can a two class system be allowed to emerge when there is practically no
unemployment, only 2-3 percent, indicating that some people are without a job for a
short period of time only, while they shift from one job to another.
The image of a flourishing oil economy is confirmed by studies comparing in which
countries in Europe it is easiest to find work for architects. According to a recent study,
Norway is the best place (ARCH DAILY – 2012).
How then can a society practically without unemployment refuse its youth to enter the
housing market? It can, because soaring costs have resulted in m
2
costs for flats from
Euro 3 000 to 10 000 depending on if it is city outskirt or city centre areas. The per unit
housing costs are also soaring because the standards are increasing, with all kinds of
facilities included in addition to soaring site costs. This is one of the key factors that has
caused the dept level of Norwegian households having increased by 50 percent during
one decade only, from 2002 to 2012. Yet another factor that counts a lot in this overall
picture is the standard rise caused by the fast rising and now accepted commodity of
space being offered. Area use per person has been rising steadily and dramatically
along with growing affluence, especially between 1967 and 2000 (NORDBY and MILLER
2010). The figure below (Table 1) shows this development.
Table 1: Housing area Norway, m
2
per person. Data: NORBY and MILLER.
How does the above examples then relate to the UN Shelter projects, whose main grasp
was to look for ways of economising on
material
use, economise on
area
use and to
establish a
step-by-step
building process? And how does this relate to the Selvaag
case?
What happens today is comparable to what Selvaag was trying to fight. Selvaag’s main
grasp from 1948 was done at a time where land area was abundant and detached
housing was the model. His main approach as regards bringing costs down was also a
sustainability measure. He argued for more efficient use of
materials
and for
compactness, for
area
efficiency. He also offered people to do some work on the house
in order to reduce costs. His sole goal was to reduce construction time and costs.
The Selvaag company’s grasp today is still to densify cities. This is also a matter of area
use. As a consequence the company runs up against the challenge of quality in the
outdoor spaces between buildings leading to reactions from many urbanists. Since the
issue is there and it will not most probably go away by itself, it has to be addressed.
Debating it could be constructive if one accepts the tremendous pressure on inner cities
and discusses how the quality level can be maintained while densifying, instead of
dreaming of a long gone time where scattered detached housing and luxury apartment
blocks set in a green landscape dominated cities. Densification has its drawbacks but
also many advantages - not least that of reducing the eco-footprint per capita. Allowing
Year
Housing area,
m
2
per person
1967
29
2000
51
2012
61
