Systems for rating buildings and neighbourhoods used to focus primarily on environmental sustainability criteria. In order to take a holistic view of buildings in the spirit of the NEB initiative and get an idea of their quality from a building culture perspective, however, aesthetics and social inclusion must be factored in too. The NEBKrit project set out to formulate such quality, rating and evaluation criteria for publicly funded trial buildings and neighbourhoods in Austria.
Baukultur Building culture relates as much to the social aspects of architecture and construction as it does to cultural heritage. Besides the aesthetic design of buildings and cityscapes, the term also covers how buildings shape the environment and people’s lives, so it is not easy to translate it into a category system. One fairly recent approach to assessing building culture is the Davos Quality System (Swiss Federal Office of Culture 2021),1 which comprises eight dimensions (governance, functionality, environment, economy, diversity, context, sense of place and beauty). However, the diversity dimension here does not reflect the issue of inclusion in its entirety. The NEBKrit2 project investigated this system and many other strategies for assessing buildings and neighbourhoods against NEB principles before going on to discuss the findings with experts in a number of workshops.
Formulating the valuation model
The project team used these analyses to devise a criteria and valuation model for Austria, which was trialled and evaluated based on test assessments for six pilot projects in all (two each from three groups – new buildings, renovation and neighbourhoods). The model comprises 14 categories with a total of 37 criteria for the three dimensions of environmental sustainability, aesthetics and social inclusion plus a fourth dimension – an open “innovation” category. The environmental sustainability dimension was defined using six categories inspired by the six environmental objectives under the EU Taxonomy (climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, sustainable use of water resources, transition to a circular economy, pollution prevention, and protection of ecosystems and biodiversity).
The dimensions of aesthetics and social inclusion were incorporated into the system and given equal status to the sustainability criteria. This places the system on a legally secure footing that has already become firmly established across Europe and that likewise underpins the national valuation and certification systems already found in the construction sector, such as the klimaaktiv standards, DGNB/ÖGNI certification and the Austrian Eco Label. The NEB’s three working principles – a participatory process, a transdisciplinary approach and multi-level engagement – were also integrated into the model.
Guidelines on assessing buildings
It became clear during the development process that a qualitative approach would be needed in order to assess the aesthetic criteria and (most of) the social inclusion ones. By contrast, the environmental sustainability criteria can continue to be measured against quantifiable values. Projects that are submitted are assessed in a two-stage process based on a description supplied by the project team themselves. Specialized experts first make an initial appraisal of the dimensions to be considered before the final verdict is announced by an interdisciplinary committee whose skillsets cover all the relevant categories. One important aspect of the valuation model being proposed is that, besides being designed to facilitate external project assessments, it also functions as a set of guidelines for planning building projects and can thus lend effective support to holistic planning processes.
Applying the model to whole neighbourhoods
A follow-up project is currently under way, this time applying the valuation model on a neighbourhood scale and devising a set of criteria complete with assessment methodology and proposed processes for a comprehensive valuation of urban and rural neighbourhoods based on the NEB’s three dimensions. On this scale too, the model can be used both for making assessments and for developing projects and submitting proposals for neighbourhood development projects.
klimaneutralestadt.at/en/projects/tiks/nebkrit-quality-criteria-for-buildings-and-neighbourhoods-on-the-basis-of-the-new-european-bauhaus.php
klimaneutralestadt.at/en/projects/tiks/neb-krit-q-new-european-bauhaus-quality-criteria-for-sustainable-urban-development.php
1 davosdeclaration2018.ch/de/qualitaets-system
2 Project partners: Plattform Baukulturpolitik (project management), IBR & I Institute of Building Research & Innovation ZT GmbH
