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Projektet ”Sammenlignende undersøgelse af reguleringen af den fysiske adgang til og i bygninger (tilgængelighed) i Danmark, Sverige og Norge” har sammenlignet tilgængelighedslovgivningen og undersøgt, hvilken betydning ligheder og forskelle har for bevægelsen af materialer samt rådgiver- og udførerydelser på tværs af de tre lande.Selvom om der er forskelle i rammebetingelser og tilgængelighedslovgivning, oplever brancheorganisationerne i de tre lande ikke, at tilgængelighedslovgivningen er en faktor, der har betydning for bevægelsen af materialer, rådgiverydelser og udførerydelser. Landene er kendetegnet af virksomheder, som drives nationalt både på rådgiversiden og udførersiden,selvom de er repræsenteret i flere lande. Samtidig er størsteparten af produkterne nationale – men kan være ejet af en større international koncern.Det er helt andre faktorer, der har en betydning for bevægeligheden – men det er svært at pege på enkeltfaktorer, da der er tale om et samspil af forhold relateret til arbejdsmarkedsforhold, konjunkturer, kultur og traditioner.

Undersøgelsen i projektet ”Evaluering af effekten af det i BR15 reviderede krav om niveaufri adgang til enfamiliehuse” peger på, at der har været en effekt ved, at bestemmelsen om niveaufri adgang blev ændret til forberedelse for niveaufri adgang. Men omfanget af effekten er vanskeligt at udtale sig om, eftersom det ikke har været muligt at indhente information herom. De interviewede parter, uanset om det er anlægsgartnere eller byggesagsbehandlere, der er blevet kontaktet, kan udelukkende bidrage med en skønsmæssig vurdering.Kortlægningen af 281 fritliggende enfamiliehuse bygget i perioden 2018-2020 viser, at næsten alle enfamiliehuse (85,4%) efterlever bestemmelsen om forberedelse for niveaufri adgang. Mens der i tillæg er etableret niveaufri adgang i en række enfamiliehuse (12,8%).

Science understands and handles a phenomenon from different perspectives. Light is handled as daylight, artificial light, task light, and general light, as physics, electrical technology, or safety aids. However, as part of people’s everyday lives, the different characteristics of the phenomena fluxes and blend, as people’s needs and preferences to lighting differ across a day, in different situations, and not least across a lifetime. Current societal agendas as Leave No One Behind or the sustainable development goals, stress the need for a more holistic approach in design: For the built environment to support wellbeing, comfort, and quality of life, for all. Disabilities have traditionally been defined in relation to abilities and the normal-bodied, with special aids for special needs, and special spaces for the ‘other’. Niches for the other is seen in the field of lighting as special solutions for visually impaired, and correspondingly, lighting is a niche in low-vision services, that has been guided by diagnostics and recommendations of specific lux levels. Thus, more holistic and interdisciplinary initiatives within low-vision rehabilitation that have explored the rehabilitative role of lighting as support of the visually impaired individual in their everyday life, show that individualizing and optimizing the individual’s domestic lighting can improve their quality of life. Can the findings from low-vision rehabilitation be translated into the field of lighting design, informing a qualitative approach, and work as an incubator for more diverse user perspectives? The interactions of the low-vision consultants, visually impaired participants, and their domestic lighting, have been studied in a case study of the role of lighting in low-vision rehabilitation. Participatory observations of 15 consultations and interviews with 17 visually impaired participants form the basis for an analysis of the dynamic human environment interaction at stake, using the theoretical frameworks of affordance and usability. The analysis contributes to a more situated and dynamic understanding of light: The experience of light is context dependent, and lighting needs and preferences are diverging regardless of diagnosis but rather constituted by the dynamic interactions. Consequently, this calls for user involvement and a more diverse user perspective in design processes, which could support more useful designs. This study implies a promising potential within the intersection of research paradigms and practice: Between quality of life, lighting quality, architectural quality, and user perspectives closer to people’s complex and changing needs and preferences.

The cold and dark winters of the Nordic region place high demands on our built environment, and with forecasts of aging populations, climate change, and the increasing complexity of building technologies and construction, the problems will accelerate further in the near future.In the field of critical regionalism, the notion of the Nordic has been seen as a way to re-establish the human connection to the lifeworld of places, something that has been lost in modern architecture. Universal, theoretical, or technical approaches seldom take into account the complexity of contemporary life; while, on the other hand, social studies rarely include the technical. By examining complex contemporary life as concurrently technical and social, this article expands on and discusses the notion of the Nordic as being relational in scale. In order to explore the complexity of how context-specific challenges are understood and handled, the analysis is supplemented with the flat ontology of the actor-network theory. The two case studies—1. mould issues in housing; and 2. domestic lighting for rehabilitating low vision—show that both the problems and the approaches to addressing them take place across a continuum of scales. Various practices translate between levels of abstraction, from the individual to the social to the scientific, an interaction of levels that is further discussed in relation to Norberg-Schulz’s notions of accommodation and assimilation. The two cases illustrate different approaches to the mode of translation, and show that it is fellow actors who cause and also resolve any problem. The crucial task of professional practices, including architecture, is thus managing, navigating, and coordinating between them. The cold and dark winters of the Nordic region place high demands on our built environment, and with forecasts of aging populations, climate change, and the increasing complexity of building technologies and construction, the problems will accelerate further in the near future.In the field of critical regionalism, the notion of the Nordic has been seen as a way to re-establish the human connection to the lifeworld of places, something that has been lost in modern architecture. Universal, theoretical, or technical approaches seldom take into account the complexity of contemporary life; while, on the other hand, social studies rarely include the technical. By examining complex contemporary life as concurrently technical and social, this article expands on and discusses the notion of the Nordic as being relational in scale. In order to explore the complexity of how context-specific challenges are understood and handled, the analysis is supplemented with the flat ontology of the actor-network theory. The two case studies—1. mould issues in housing; and 2. domestic lighting for rehabilitating low vision—show that both the problems and the approaches to addressing them take place across a continuum of scales.Various practices translate between levels of abstraction, from the individual to the social to the scientific, an interaction of levels that is further discussed in relation to Norberg-Schulz’s notions of accommodation and assimilation. The two cases illustrate different approaches to the mode of translation, and show that it is fellow actors who cause and also resolve any problem. The crucial task of professional practices, including architecture, is thus managing, navigating, and coordinating between them.

Healthcare has the past decades shifted from a narrow medical perspective to a more holistic, biopsychosocial perspective. Disability understood as a contextual condition constituted by the relation of the individual to their social and physical context. The disability model of the International Classification of Functions (ICF) contextualizes activity, participation, body functions and structure by including environmental and personal factors. However, illustrated by the consideration of the environmental factors as a neutral dimension, the dynamic interrelation of the individual parts of the system is rather unchartered. In 2017–2019, a lighting assessment was developed and tested on 60 participants in low vision rehabilitation. An action research project accompanied the pilot study from 2018. Ethnographic participatory observations of the low vision consultants in 15 consultations, semi-structured interviews, and a document analysis of the project material of the pilot project has been analyzed using the theoretical framework of science and technology studies. Mapping the physical environment showed a range of factors from spatial organization to luminaires and light bulbs. Moreover, in relation to specific activities, relevant factors were identified and assessed, and in the intervention adjusted to relevant personal and social factors. Identifying overlapping personal, environmental, and professional spheres illustrates the complexity of practicing rehabilitation in people's everyday lives. Acknowledging and coordinating different versions of lighting enabled low vision consultants to work across these spheres relationally. ICF was embedded in the practice of low vision consultants as a frame of reference, however, implementing this framework occurred through an assemblage of tools from different fields. The focus on lighting as an active element in low vision rehabilitation demonstrated a way to work across the personal and environmental to reduce the gap that caused disability. In everyday life, the physical environment was pivotal in the person–environment relationship and in enabling or disabling the individual. However, the physical environment was also key to the rehabilitation process, facilitating the individual's learning and change processes and reconfiguring their understanding and use of the environment. Consequently, the physical environment was not a neutral background to the other factors but rather enabling the rehabilitation and recovery processes.

Denne kortlægning er blevet til som et delstudie i forskningsprojektet ’Forbedret livskvalitet: Udvikling af evidensbaseret rehabiliterende praksis for borgere med synsvanskeligheder’, der har forløbet fra 2018 til 2022. Hvor de første to delstudier har taget udgangspunkt i et pilotstudie omkring udviklingen af en systematiseret metode for belysning i synsrehabiliteringen, beskrevet i Belysning i synsrehabiliteringen. Et casestudie (Øien, 2022), løfter denne kortlægning fokus til hele praksisfællesskabet. I nærværende forskningssamarbejde har tanken været, at kortlægningen er med til at forberede en videre implementering af metoderne udviklet i pilotprojektet Bedre Lys Mere Liv (Øien m.fl., 2021).Kortlægningen er lavet på baggrund af telefoninterviews, besøg og kvalitative interviews, samt en workshop, hvor forskellige aspekter af praksisfællesskabet og deres arbejde med belysning blev behandlet og diskuteret. Der er stor variation mellem de enkelte centre, både i størrelse, dækningsområde og organisation. Fra enkeltkommuner til regionale centre med ydelser til 18 kommuner, fra synsrådgivning varetaget af en enkelt synskonsulent til grupper af 24 medarbejdere. Fagligt spænder gruppen bredt med pædagoger, lærere og ergoterapeuter som de tre største faggrupper, svarende til målgrupperne småbørn, skolebørn og voksne. Rapporten kigger nærmere på synskonsulenternes praksis omkring belysning ved at udfolde de konventioner, kompetencer og materielle artefakter, der er knyttet til belysning. Lysviden i synsrådgivningen har været i ændring de senere år, og der er derfor flere forskellige lys-skoler repræsenteret lokalt. Ved de større centre mødes de forskellige tilgange ved sidemandsoplæring, og hvor man løbende har lyssager, bliver der udviklet lokale tilgange og skematikker. Mindre steder, hvor lyssagerne typisk er sjældnere, er praksis mere afhængig af eksterne parter som sagsbehandleres krav, elinstallatørers eller forhandleres viden eller sparring fra eksterne kollegaer. Kompetencer omkring lyssager er tæt knyttet til den individuelles erfaring. Dog spiller vejledninger og skematikker en vigtig rolle, både som støtte for novicen og for fastholdelsen af en fælles praksis. Centrenes materielle artefakter, faciliteterne, spænder fra afprøvning af enkelte lyspærer og lamper systematiseret i en form for depot eller lager, i mobile kuffert- eller cykeltaskeordninger til at medbringe til borgeres hjem eller institutionelle kontekster, til demonstrationsopstillinger og lokaler til afprøvning af pærer, lamper og rumlige sammenhænge. De mest omfattende afprøvningsfaciliteter, lyslabs, er typisk blevet mobiliseret ved hjælp af bevillinger fra eksterne fonde, og repræsenterer den aktuelle lysteknologi og ’best practice’ på tidspunktet for bevillingen. Både viden, kompetencer og faciliteter kan ses i et kontinuum fra simple til mere komplekse, hvilket også karakteriserer den enkelte sag. Både den enkelte sag og synsrådgivningen er situerede. Ud over den enkelte synskonsulent, er dennes eksterne netværk af samarbejdspartnere, kollegaer og øvrige faglige miljø inddraget i de mulige ydelser samt ledelse, organisation og strukturelle rammer forhandlet i regionale fora. Her spiller en række styrings og støtteteknologier ind i samarbejde og vidensdeling, herunder ydelsesbeskrivelser, efteruddannelsesforløber, dokumentationsprotokoller og databaser.

Belysning udgør en helt naturlig – men ikke mindst afgørende – del af menneskers hverdagsliv, og de færreste kan forestille sig at miste synet. Men det sker. Hver dag. Endda i stadig stigende omfang. Derfor er resultaterne fra ny forskning afgørende: Svagsynede kan hjælpes til selvhjælp med individuelt tilpasset lys.

Belysning spiller en afgørende rolle for, hvordan mennesker med synsnedsættelse klarer sig i hverdagen. Når synet ændrer sig, kan der opstå nye behov og udfordringer både i hjemmet, på arbejde og i andre sociale sammenhænge. Hidtil har synskonsulenternes arbejde primært været knyttet til den enkeltes diagnose. Med pilotprojektet ”Bedre Lys Mere Liv” har synskonsulenterne ved Center for Specialundervisning i Slagelse udviklet en ny holistisk metode.På baggrund af hjemmebesøg og afprøvning i et særligt indrettet lyslaboratorium finder synskonsulenten sammen med den synsnedsatte og dennes pårørende gode lysløsninger til de aktiviteter, som er centrale for den synsnedsattes livskvalitet.

Background/IntroductionLighting is crucial for the visually impaired citizen to handle everyday life, and has historically been an important aspect of the low vision services. Lighting assessments have been conducted in the laboratory and informed by the diagnostics, by adjusting the ceiling light and measuring the visual acuity at a distance of 3 meters.PurposeA recovery based lighting assessment, aiming to improve the quality of life of visually impaired citizens, have been developed by a group of low vision consultants. But what role do the approach play in the service?MethodDuring the winter seasons of 2017/18 and 2018/19 60 visually impaired citizens participated in the intervention, accompanied by a relative. In the specific home environment and guided by the consultant and a narrative interview, the citizen described challenges in performing everyday activities due to their vision and the current lighting conditions. The light and the visual function were measured in relation to 3 activities of importance. The citizen and his/her relative were invited to the lighting lab where different lighting arrangements were tested. Summing up the lighting assessment, the consultants drew the recommendations on a printed photo taken of the specific home environment. A follow up after 1‐3 months, repeated the measures (VFQ‐25, Canadian Occupational Performance, Groffman Visual Tracing test, and the Farnsworth Dichotomous test (D15)).PerspectivesThe intervention showed improvement of quality of life, in self‐assessment of the performance of near task activities.The narrative interview concerning lighting and everyday activities enabled articulations and reflections on the visual impairment in context.Acknowledging the knowledge of the citizen, due to their everyday practices in their physical and social context, and their embodied knowledge in the lighting lab help to adjust the rehabilitation.The future aim is that the intervention is shared and implemented in other low vision services.

Background/IntroductionLow vision services in Denmark have previous been located in the counties, with the main task to advise and teach the visually impaired to live with his or her disability. However, during the last decade, structural changes and emerging rehabilitative and recovery based approaches have resulted in a great diversity in the field.PurposeThe objective of this study is to get an understanding of the current picture of low vision services in Denmark, including aspects of importance when assessing the diversity of the field as a whole.MethodFrom May to September 2019, 24 low vision centres were contacted, and all participated in a telephone interview on the organisation, affiliation and appropriation structure; the professional background of the low vision consultants (LVC) and their practices concerning lighting assessments. In all 30 interviews of 20‐60 minutes were conducted, and based on notes and transcriptions, these were thematically categorised and analysed.PerspectivesThe size and catchment area of the 24 centres range from 1 to 22 LVC’s, from 1 to 18 municipalities, and 2 of the centres were national. The professional background of the 144 LVC’s: occupational therapists (51), teachers (45), social educators (28) and the remaining 20 LVC’s represented 10 additional professions. The practices of lighting assessments showed diversity of methods, proportions, facilities and aids, and not at least the degree of rehabilitative or recovery based approach in the assessment. The mapping show huge diversity across the organisational structure and configuration of professionals, which eventually effects the actual low vision service offered to the citizens. Important aspects addressed in the interviews were the role of the allocation structure in the services, collegial cooperation and sharing of knowledge across the professional network, especially concerning practice knowledge on specific work functions such as the lighting assessments and their role in rehabilitation.

Among various approaches to handling friction between (dis)abilities and the built environment, universal design (UD) has emerged as an interdisciplinary field for research and practice. However, while the literature denotes UD as a design concept, practice, and strategy for rehabilitation, its true impact is still largely unknown.To explore the rehabilitative potential of UD and determine how to evaluate its impact, this paper seeks to turn the tables. It investigates a case regarding low-vision rehabilitation, in which a group of consultants developed a holistic lighting assessment (HLA) that embraced the social and the physical contexts of the visually impaired. The lighting assessment was performed using participant observations from 15 consultations, document analysis, and interviews with the low-vision consultants. Based on an actor-network theory (ANT) approach, the analysis reveals the contextual knowledge of participants, environments, and the interaction between them.The combination of quantitative and qualitative methods in HLA enabled a range of different understandings of light: as a quantitative measure, as an individually perceived aspect of the home environment, as something that enables or disables daily activities, and as a social factor of great importance for social practices. While traditional lighting assessments generally resemble the accessibility approach, with its measures of visual acuity translated into recommendations for an overall lux value, the holistic approach more closely resembles the UD methodology. One finding of this paper is that the concepts of rehabilitation and UD are committed to slightly different levels of abstraction. Rehabilitation focuses on specific individuals and specific environments, with patient rehabilitation as the main goal. UD focuses on user groups and design principles, with design and architectural solutions as the main objectives. While the concepts of UD and HLA represent different fields and different levels of abstraction, the two approaches can enhance both respective practices and theoretical frames.

Objective – The objective of this paper is to open up the ‘black box’ of low vision rehabilitation related to domestic lighting and to explore a current progress in practice. Background - Alterations and adjustments of the home or working environment for people with low vision have been based on scientific diagnostics and the level of vision and translated into a level of required lighting. This narrow and technical approach have recently been challenged by rehabilitative initiatives from professional and political stance. The rehabilitation approach embraces the everyday self-reliance of the citizen, where the social and physical contexts play an important role. Since 2015, the Danish municipalities have been required to offer citizens with impaired functioning rehabilitative initiatives that are ‘organised and performed in a holistic and interdisciplinary manner’. The methods and theories for handling this in a holistic and interdisciplinary manner have been missing. Consequently, some of the low vision services have developed their own methods to gain a better understanding of the social and physical context of low vision rehabilitation and the citizens’ quality of life. In addition, the current practice is adapted along the way. Methods – Two low vision consultants and their implementation of a recovery-based lighting assessment have been explored by participative observations in home visits and in the light lab, followed by a semi structured interview with the consultants. Drawing on the field of science, technology, and society studies the paper discusses different kinds of knowledge and their role in rehabilitation practices. Results – By focusing on issues of domestic lighting in relation to everyday activities, the scientific diagnostics were translated to highly contextualised conditions. Different types of knowledge were addressed in the consultations, including tacit knowledge, embodied in the participants and embedded in guidelines, technologies and surroundings. The narratives of the citizen, accompanied with photos and lux measures were used to recreate the settings when moving to the light lab. Based on the specific activity, the consultant demonstrated different lamps and arrangements and was guided by the immediate feedback from the participant when different lamps were compared. The approach by large resemble the person-environment-occupation model, enabling different types of knowledge and the aspect of development over time. Conclusion – By framing the visual impairment in terms of light and occupation, the consultants enabled a space for discussing challenges and testing possibilities regarding the citizens’ physical and social context, and to co-create the most relevant knowledge.

​I rapporten, Drift af hvilende ejendomme - et forstudie, undersøges, hvordan driften af hvilende ejendomme foregår, og hvilken betydning de forskellige driftsformer har for bygningens stand.Der ses på, hvordan forskellige parametre spiller ind som fx bygningens funktion og placering. De forskellige enheder, der er inde over driften, har enten fokus på de byggetekniske, samfundsøkonomiske, virksomhedsøkonomiske eller energimæssige aspekter, og samarbejdet i mellem disse har stor betydning for, hvor store skader en bygning i hviledrift pådrager sig.

BackgroundTechnological innovations in the field of low vision services usually involve assistive technologies for users with low vision. However technologies can also be used to enhance the experience of these citizens in other ways. A Danish center for low vision services has developed and tested VR/AR technology for communicating a range of different types of visual impairments. One of their concepts has been that the family play a decisive role for the success of a lighting assessment, and whether the recommendations for alterations or arrangements get implemented or not. On the one hand, the visually impaired citizen can be dependent on their social context to help them purchase and install lamps or light bulbs, and on the other hand, some citizens tend to decline the recommendations because of considerations about their household or their colleagues.MethodsThe role of the VR/AR technology in low vision services is presented and discussed based on observations of the technology employed by two low vision consultants in lighting assessments conducted during the winter season 2018/19, and interviews concerning their experiences from the previous season.ResultsBy communicating the impairment to the relatives in a way that they perceive the specific visual conditions in real time and in the specific environment, the otherwise abstract and intangible condition get physical and relational. Compared to the former practice using distorted or deconstructed filters or lenses, the new technology is more flexible and allows the level of impairment to be adjusted, or several conditions to be combined. Not everyone appreciated the technology as more than another gadget, however, the virtual environment did engage relatives and resulted in discussions, acknowledgement and recognition of the obstacles at stake.SignificanceThe findings of this study will support the further use of VR/AR technology in low vision rehabilitation.

BackgroundSince their establishment in the 1950s, Danish low vision services have developed and advanced due to new technologies and changing paradigms. Today, rehabilitative approaches are at the forefront: encompassing an active involvement of the citizen based on their health conditions and their social and physical context, in a manner that supports a coherent and meaningful everyday life. As domestic lighting is crucial for the visually impaired citizen to navigate and perform everyday activities in their home or work environment, a recovery-based lighting assessment has been developed at a low vision centre in Denmark. A pilot study conducted from 2017-19, involved 60 visually impaired citizens, a lighting lab, VR/AR technologies and a mixed methods approach focusing on everyday activities located in the physical and social context of the visually impaired citizen. From November 2018 the assessment has become the object of study in a postdoc project, aimed to ethnographically observe and describe the assessment, and in co-operation with the low vision consultants, finally improve the approach. Methods The initial fieldwork include observations of 15 consultations in the home environment and in the lighting lab, documentations from in total 180 consultations (60 citizens) and interviews with the two low vision consultants. The objective of a thick description is to get an understanding of a phenomena and its social and physical context. This is particularly relevant in order to improve, cultivate, or transfer knowledge from one context to another. The observations have focused on interactions between 1) everyday practices (of visually impaired, family members and not at least LV consultants), 2) materialities (of bodies, physical environment of the home, including lighting and technologies) and 3) knowledge (of people, in things and practices).FindingsThe assessment was initiated with a home visit and a narrative interview, focusing on the everyday practices of the citizen and the challenges regarding light. Activities of importance were discussed in dialogue between citizen, family and consultant.Positioned in the specific location of the activity, the vision and light were measured, due to performance and lux. The consultants were focused on the participant’s use of the lighting in order to perform the activity, including the daylight and its different role throughout the day or its seasonal changes. In the lighting lab and after testing different lighting solutions, photos from the specific home environment supported discussions on the spatial organisation, placement of furniture in relation to the overall layout, orientation of arrangement or position of lamps, types of lamps, surfaces.The observations showed different kinds of knowledge – embodied, embedded, explicit technical knowledge and professional knowledge of the consultants, knowledge that were coordinated, targeted and co-created by the participants throughout the course of the assessment (Øien, 2019).ConclusionThe fieldwork showed that by drawing on embedded, embodied and explicit knowledge, including the professional knowledge of the consultants and the everyday knowledge of the citizens, the lighting assessment mediates the social and physical context of the citizen. These aspects of knowledge are seldom described in intervention design or output, however they are essential in order to improve the approach or to implement the assessment across other low vision practices. This in-depth investigation will contribute to the Danish low vision rehabilitative practice by establishing a reflexive development of the field and, in the end, improve services for visually impaired citizens.AcknowledgementsThis work have been supported by TrygFonden and the Velux foundations.

At forsøge at tage den bedste beslutning uden at have den tilstrækkelige viden til at tage denne beslutning udgør på den ene side et paradoks. På den anden side er det også en konsekvens af at eksistere i en verden i konstant udvikling. I systemer med mange parametre kan nogle parametre være indbyrdes modstridende, hvilket gør selve ideen om den bedste logiske løsning til et paradoks i sig selv. Sådanne systemer fordrer et mix af beslutningskraft og tilgængelig data. Projektets forslag til løsning går derfor efter en synliggørelse af de prioriteter der træffes i designets tidligere processer, og derved understøtte dialogen så de parametre der bringes i spil er tydelige for alle parter. Igennem projektperioden har netop forholdet mellem beslutninger og tilgængelige data dukket op i forskellige sammenhænge og med forskellige perspektiver. Det er derfor fundet hensigtsmæssigt at sætte ord på disse perspektiver i form af en række mindre ’artikler’, der tilsammen søger at afspejle udfordringer og baggrunde for disse perspektiver. Artiklerne er søgt skrevet så de kan læses uafhængigt, eller i spredt fægtning alt efter læserens her og nu interesse. Men samlet set søger vi at give et mere fyldestgørende billede af feltet. Artiklerne er grundlæggende udarbejdet ud fra spørgsmål, der mere eller mindre er opstået gennem projektet og som på næste side præsenteres i en kort form.

The present exploration is part of a PhD study concerning healthy housing, a project generated against the background of problems related to damp and mould in Danish homes. These problems can be caused either by constructional conditions or by the use of a building. One can say that it is the interaction between the house and its users that determines whether it is healthy or not. However, the scientific field of indoor environment research has largely been addressing single variables in quantitative measures. And even though behavioural issues have been addressed as one of the main causes of the problem, this has not been a topic investigated further. Rather, it seems as if the questions of user issues are sidestepped by a persistent belief that technical solutions such as mechanical ventilation can solve the problem by itself. The article explores the interaction of human and non-human actors in the role of causing the problems, but also in the role of creating and maintaining a healthy home. It calls for a qualitative approach to the field, engaging with the participants in their everyday practices, but also being perceptive to the material, the artefacts, and the inscriptions that are of great significance to the everyday practices. The article is based on the initial fieldwork conducted during the autumn of 2015 and reflects the different methods applied to capture the practices and interaction at play. Some of the interviews included a walk-through in the apartments, where interviewees demonstrated their everyday practices, including the handling of windows, ventilation systems, drying facilities, and other appliances and technologies. The qualitative approach enables a black-boxed understanding of the phenomena to be opened up, with the findings illustrating the complexity of housing and public health. The present exploration is part of a PhD study concerning healthy housing,a project generated against the background of problems related to damp andmould in Danish homes. These problems can be caused either by constructionalconditions or by the use of a building. One can say that it is the interactionbetween the house and its users that determines whether it is healthy ornot. However, the scientific field of indoor environment research has largelybeen addressing single variables in quantitative measures. And even thoughbehavioural issues have been addressed as one of the main causes of theproblem, this has not been a topic investigated further. Rather, it seems as ifthe questions of user issues are sidestepped by a persistent belief that technicalsolutions such as mechanical ventilation can solve the problem by itself.The article explores the interaction of human and non-human actors in therole of causing the problems, but also in the role of creating and maintaininga healthy home. It calls for a qualitative approach to the field, engaging withthe participants in their everyday practices, but also being perceptive to thematerial, the artefacts, and the inscriptions that are of great significance tothe everyday practices. The article is based on the initial fieldwork conductedduring the autumn of 2015 and reflects the different methods applied tocapture the practices and interaction at play. Some of the interviews includeda walk-through in the apartments, where interviewees demonstrated theireveryday practices, including the handling of windows, ventilation systems,drying facilities, and other appliances and technologies. The qualitative approachenables a black-boxed understanding of the phenomena to be openedup, with the findings illustrating the complexity of housing and public health

Housing and health have been subject for health policies for several decades. The subject is currently gaining attention from several disciplines and “healthy housing” is establishing as a field of multi-disciplinary research. One of the issues that concern both health and housing is the phenomenon of mould. As one of the sources of indoor air pollution, mould is associated with health risks such as respiratory symptoms, asthma, allergy and immunological reactions. The very microbial exposure and the health effects are complex matter, but so is the cause. Mould growth is the result of a timedependent process including relative humidity, temperature and organic material; and each of the factors can both be caused by the building structure itself and/or the use of the building. Due to the uncertainties in quantifying the relation between conditions, exposure and effects it has been impossible to set definitive guideline values or thresholds for tolerable quantities. Consequently, emphasis is put on prevention: HO address action by relevant stakeholders – including building owners, developers, users and occupants, but also the responsibility of public authorities to regulate and guide. But is the issue communicated? Regulations, guidelines and information campaigns tend to focus on the negative health impacts and the prevention of hazards and risks. This knowledge often appertain a growing concern about the health risks, however, knowing the consequences doesn’t necessary result in a change of practice. As an alternative or addition to the preventive regulatory action is the promotion of health : encouraging well-being and setting the conditions for people to obtain and maintain a healthy home. Various approaches are taken to solve or avoid the problem and this paper explores further how, in the Danish context, national regulations, health policy, guidelines and local initiatives manage to work with the problem in different ways. Housing and health have been subject for health policies for several decades. The subject is currently gaining attention from several disciplines and “healthy housing” is establishing as a field of multi-disciplinary research. One of the is-sues that concern both health and housing is the phenomenon of mould. As one of the sources of indoor air pollution, mould is associated with health risks such as respiratory symptoms, asthma, allergy and immunological reactions. The very microbial exposure and the health effects are complex matter, but so is the cause. Mould growth is the result of a time-dependent process including relative humidity, temperature and organic material; and each of the factors can both be caused by the building structure itself and/or the use of the building. Due to the uncertainties in quantifying the relation between conditions, exposure and effects it has been impossible to set definitive guideline values or thresholds for tolerable quantities. Consequently, emphasis is put on prevention: WHO address action by relevant stakeholders – including building owners, developers, users and occupants, but also the responsibility of public authorities to regulate and guide. But is the issue communicated? Regulations, guidelines and information cam-paigns tend to focus on the negative health impacts and the prevention of haz-ards and risks. This knowledge often appertain a growing concern about the health risks, however, knowing the consequences doesn’t necessary result in a change of practice. As an alternative or addition to the preventive regulatory ac-tion is the promotion of health : encouraging well-being and setting the conditions for people to obtain and maintain a healthy home.Various approaches are taken to solve or avoid the problem and this paper ex-plores further how, in the Danish context, national regulations, health policy, guidelines and local initiatives manage to work with the problem in different ways.

Denne afhandling søger at komme tættere på en forståelse af problematikkerne omkring skimmelsvampevækst i boliger og bidrager med et kvalitativt perspektiv på et ellers kvantitativt forskningsfelt. Det empiriske feltarbejde omfatter observationer og semistrukturerede interviews i 11 almene boligafdelinger, opført i perioden fra 1942-1972, hvor problemer med fugt og skimmelsvamp har været en af årsagerne til at de disse år har gennemgået en større renovering. Afhandlingen viser at skimmelproblematikken har været forårsaget af en lang række forskellige faktorer, både bygningerne, brugernes hverdagspraksisser og en lang række konventioner. Hovedbudskabet er at denne type problematikker er både tekniske og sociale, og at det er behov for beredskab på flere niveauer, for at forebygge skimmelsvampevækst i boliger.

This paper is motivated by observations of indoor environmental concerns such as dampness and mold, perceived by residents of rental and private homes in Denmark. Based on actor-network theory (ANT), we have followed the network of interactions between the home and its associated actors in the field of indoor environment. The ANT analysis shows a wide gap between the theory and practice of indoor environment. The phenomenon of mold growth can be inaccessible to laymen and makes it difficult for habitants to actively maintain a good and healthy living environment. Furthermore, the focuses on energy-efficiency and new technologies in construction reinforce the power of the specialist, to a degree where the user is excluded from the indoor environment network. Because the arrangement and practices of a household is critical for a healthy home, we suggest that the user practices are taken into account in the process of designing, redesigning or adapting the indoor environment. To redirect the network of indoor environment towards convergence, we consider design as an opportunity to enhance the user as an actant.

Denne rapport præsenterer resultaterne af en undersøgelse af arkitektkonkurrencer som institution.Undersøgelsen er gennemført ved en kombination af litteraturstudier og interview med personer tæt på konkurrencerne. Undersøgelsen er tilrettelagt som et forstudium, der dels skal give et aktuelt overblik over feltet, dels skal afdække behovet for yderligere forskning. Rapporten henvender sig både til bygherrer som rekvirenter og praktiserende arkitekter som leverandører på konkurrenceområdet. Endvidere henvender rapporten sig til forskersamfundet samt rekvirenter af forskning