Despite documented political support for energy reduction measures in Switzerland’s built environment, as well as high international regard for its construction and research sectors, design practitioners and researchers perceive a diverse set of challenges involved in the implementation of green development solutions. Grounded in Science and Technology Studies (STS), observations drawn from 31 semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted with Swiss building industry experts provide insight into the relationships between designers, researchers and public authorities. A series of examples from the empirical data show how regulatory frictions and the challenges of implementing construction strategies into diverse domestic and international working contexts are ameliorated.
References
[1]
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. First Assessment Report Overview Chapter. Available online: http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/1992%20IPCC%20Supplement/IPCC_1990_and_1992_Assessments/English/ipcc_90_92_assessments_far_overview.pdf (accessed on 19 June 2013).
[2]
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Climate Change 2001: Synthesis Report. Available online: http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/climate-changes-2001/synthesis-syr/english/front.pdf (accessed on 19 June 2013).
[3]
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report. Available online: http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/syr/ar4_syr_frontmatter.pdf (accessed on 19 June 2013).
[4]
Marszal, A.J.; Bourrelle, J.S.; Musall, E.; Heiselberg, P.; Gustavsen, A.; Voss, K. Net Zero Energy Buildings—Calculation Methodologies versus National Building Codes. In Proceedings of EuroSun 2010: International Conference on Solar Heating, Cooling and Buildings, Graz, Austria, 28 September—1 October 2010.
[5]
Murphy, L.; Meijer, F.; Visscher, H. Governance Tools. In Sustainable Urban Environments: An Ecosystem Approach; Springer: New York, NY, USA, 2012; pp. 341–363.
[6]
Schweber, L.; Leiringer, R. Beyond the technical: A snapshot of energy and buildings research. Build. Res. Inf. 2012, 40, 481–492, doi:10.1080/09613218.2012.675713.
[7]
S？rensen, K.H. Providing, Pushing and Policing. Towards a New Architecture of Technology Policy. In Technology Studies and Sustainable Development; Profil Publishers: Vienna, Austria, 2002; pp. 65–94.
[8]
Gray, P.C.R.; Wiedemann, P.M. Risk management and sustainable development: Mutual lessons from approaches to the use of indicators. J. Risk Res. 1999, 2, 201–218, doi:10.1080/136698799376808.
[9]
Ryghaug, M. Towards a Sustainable Aesthetics, Architects Constructing Energy Efficient Buildings. Ph.D. Thesis, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway, September 2002.
[10]
Shove, E. Gaps, barriers and conceptual chasms: Theories of technology transfer and energy in buildings. Energy Policy 1998, 26, 1105–1112, doi:10.1016/S0301-4215(98)00065-2.
[11]
Amsterdamska, O. Practices, People, and Places. In The Handbook of Science and Technology Studies; MIT Press: Cambridge, MA, USA, 2008; pp. 205–210.
[12]
Evans, R.; Collins, H. Expertise: From Attribute to Attribution and Back Again? In The Handbook of Science and Technology Studies; MIT Press: Cambridge, MA, USA, 2008; pp. 609–630.
[13]
Freitag, M.; Vatter, A. Political institutions and the wealth of regions: Swiss cantons in a comparative perspective. Eur. Urban Reg. Stud. 2004, 11, 291–301, doi:10.1177/0969776404044019.
[14]
Latour, B. Science in Action: How to Follow Scientists and Engineers Through Society; Harvard UP: Cambridge, MA, USA, 1987.
[15]
Pickering, A. Science as Practice and Culture; University of Chicago Press: Chicago, IL, USA, 1992.
[16]
Knorr-Cetina, K. Epistemic Cultures: How the Sciences Make Knowledge; Harvard UP: Cambridge, MA, USA, 1999.
[17]
Latour, B.; Woolgar, S. Laboratory Life: the Social Construction of Scientific Facts; Princeton UP: Princeton, NJ, USA, 1986.
[18]
Gieryn, T. Cultural Boundaries of Science: Credibility on the Line; University of Chicago Press: Chicago, IL, USA, 1999.
[19]
Gieryn, T. Boundary-work and the demarcation of science from non-science: Strains and interests in professional ideologies of scientists. Am. Sociol. Rev. 1983, 48, 781–795, doi:10.2307/2095325.
[20]
Clark, W.C.; Tomich, T.P.; van Noordwijk, M.; Dickson, N.M.; Catacutan, D.; Guston, D.; McNie, E. Toward a General Theory of Boundary Work: Insights from the CGIAR’s Natural Resource Management Programs. In Faculty Research Working Paper Series, Sustainability Science Program; Harvard Kennedy School of Government Harvard University: Cambridge, MA, USA, 2010.
[21]
Hoppe, R. From “Knowledge Use” towards “Boundary Work”. Sketch of an Emerging New Agenda for Inquiry into Science-Policy Interaction. In Knowledge Democracy. Consequences for Science, Politics and Media; Springer: Heidelberg, Germany, 2010; pp. 169–186.
[22]
Clarke, A. Social Worlds/Arenas Theory as Organizational Theory. In Social Organization and Social Process: Essays in Honor of Anselm Strauss; Aldine de Gruyter: New York, NY, USA, 1991; pp. 119–158.
[23]
Star, S.L. Power, Technology and the Phenomenology of Conventions: On Being Allergic to Onions. In A Sociology of Monsters: Essays on Power, Technology and Domination; Routledge: London, UK, 1991; pp. 26–56.
[24]
Star, S.L.; Griesemer, J.R. Institutional ecology, translations, and coherence: Amateurs and professionals in Berkley’s Museum of vertebrate zoology, 1907–1938. Soc. Stud. Sci. 1989, 19, 387–420, doi:10.1177/030631289019003001.
[25]
Hackett, E.J.; Amsterdamska, O.; Lynch, M.; Wajcman, J. The Handbook of Science and Technology Studies; MIT Press: Cambridge, MA, USA, 2008.
[26]
Fujimura, J. Bandwagons in Science: Doable Problems and Transportable Packages as Factors in the Development of the Molecular Genetic Bandwagon in Cancer Research. Ph.D. Thesis, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA, November 1986.
[27]
Fujimura, J. The Molecular biological bandwagon in cancer research: Where social worlds meet. Soc. Probl. 1988, 35, 261–283, doi:10.2307/800622.
[28]
Fujimura, J. Crafting Science: Standardized Packages, Boundary Objects, and Translation. In Science as Practice and Culture; University of Chicago Press: Chicago, IL, USA, 1992; pp. 168–214.
[29]
Latour, B.; Yaneva, A. Give Me a Gun and I Will Make All Buildings Move: An ANT’s View of Architecture. In Explorations in Architecture: Teaching, Design, Research; Birkh？user: Basel, Switzerland, 2008; pp. 80–89.
[30]
Star, S.L. The Structure of Ill-Structured Solutions: Boundary Objects and Heterogeneous Distributed Problem Solving. In Readings in Distributed Artificial Intelligence; Morgan Kaufman: San Francisco, CA, USA, 1988; pp. 37–54.
[31]
Guston, D.H. Boundary organizations in environmental policy and science: An introduction. Sci. Technol. Hum. Values 2001, 26, 399–408, doi:10.1177/016224390102600401.
[32]
Gerring, J. What is a case study and what is it good for? Am. Polit. Sci. Rev. 2004, 98, 341–454, doi:10.1017/S0003055404001182.
[33]
Teddlie, C.; Yu, F. Mixed methods sampling: A typology with examples. J. Mix. Methods Res. 2007, 1, 77–100, doi:10.1177/2345678906292430.
[34]
Flyberg, B. Case Study. In The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research; Sage: Newbury Park, CA, USA, 2011; pp. 201–316.
[35]
Hemmati, M. Multi-Stakeholder Processes for Governance and Sustainability: Beyond Deadlock and Conflict; Earthscan: London, UK, 2002.
[36]
Yang, J.; Shen, Q.; Ho, M. An overview of previous studies in stakeholder management and its implications for the construction industry. J. Facil. Manag. 2009, 7, 159–175, doi:10.1108/14725960910952532.
[37]
Bal, M.; Bryde, B.; Fearon, D.; Ochieng, E. Stakeholder engagement: Achieving sustainability in the construction sector. Sustainability 2013, 6, 695–710.
[38]
Feige, A.; Wallbaum, H.; Krank, S. Harnessing stakeholder motivation: Towards a Swiss sustainable building sector. Build. Res. Inf. 2011, 39, 504–517, doi:10.1080/09613218.2011.589788.
[39]
Roloff, J. Learning from multi-stakeholder networks: Issue-focused stakeholder management. J. Bus. Ethics 2008, 82, 233–250, doi:10.1007/s10551-007-9573-3.
[40]
Friedman, A.L.; Miles, S. Stakeholders: Theory and Practice; Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK, 2006.
[41]
Jasanoff, S. (No?) Accounting for expertise. Sci. Public Policy 2003, 6, 221–232.
[42]
Jasanoff, S. Breaking the waves in science studies: Comment on H.M. Collins and Rober Evans, the third wave of science studies. Soc. Stud. Sci. 2003, 33, 389–400, doi:10.1177/03063127030333004.
[43]
Halliday, S. Sustainable Construction; Butterworth Heinemann: London, UK, 2008.
[44]
Bourdeau, L. Sustainable development and the future of construction: A comparison of visions from various countries. Build. Res. Inf. 1999, 27, 354–366.
[45]
Hill, R.H.; Bowen, P.A. Sustainable construction: Principles and a framework for attainment. Constr. Manag. Econ. 1997, 15, 223–239.
[46]
Akadiri, P.O.; Chinyio, E.A.; Olomolaiye, P.O. Design of a sustainable building: A conceptual framework for implementing sustainability in the building sector. Buildings 2012, 2, 126–152, doi:10.3390/buildings2020126.
[47]
Zimmermann, M.; Althaus, H.J.; Haas, A. Benchmarks for sustainable construction: A contribution to develop a standard. Energy Build. 2005, 37, 1147–1157, doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2005.06.017.
[48]
Van Bueren, E.M.; Priemus, H. Institutional barriers to sustainable construction. Environ. Plan. Plan. Des. 2002, 29, 75–86.
[49]
Zimmerman, M. Energy situation and policy in Switzerland. Int. J. Ambient Energy 2001, 22, 29–34, doi:10.1080/01430750.2001.9675384.
[50]
Pitt, M.; Tucker, M.; Riley, M.; Longden, J. Towards sustainable construction: Promotion and best practices. Constr. Innov. Inf. Process Manag. 2009, 9, 201–224.
[51]
Ziegler, M. Swiss Greenhouse Gas Abatement Cost Curve; McKinsey & Company: Zurich, Switzerland, 2009; p. 6.
[52]
Swiss Federal Office of Energy SFOE. Energy Consumption in Switzerland 2012. Available online: http://www.news.admin.ch/NSBSubscriber/message/attachments/31150.pdf (accessed on 19 June 2013).
[53]
Swiss Federal Office of Energy SFOE. Energy Consumption up 3.7% in 2012. Available online: http://www.bfe.admin.ch/energie/00588/00589/00644/index.html?lang=en&msg-id=49443 (accessed on 19 June 2013).
[54]
European Commission Eurostat. Glossary: Carbon Dioxide Equivalent. Available online: (accessed on 28 June 2013). Excerpt from site: “A or , abbreviated as is a metric measure used to compare the emissions from various greenhouse gases on the basis of their global-warming potential (GWP), by converting amounts of other gases to the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide with the same global warming potential”.
[55]
The Federal Authorities of the Swiss Confederation Homepage. Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation from 18 April 1999. Available online: http://www.admin.ch/org/polit/00083/?lang=en (accessed on 19 June 2013).
[56]
Die Bundesversammlung der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft. Energy Act or Energiegesetz—EnG (SR 730). Available online: http://www.admin.ch/opc/de/classified-compilation/19983485/index.html (accessed on 19 June 2013).
[57]
Die Bundesversammlung der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft. 2000 Carbon Dioxide Act or CO2 Gesetz. (SR 641.71). Available online: http://www.admin.ch/opc/de/classified-compilation/20091310/index.html (accessed on 19 June 2013).
[58]
Nicol, L.A.; Hugentobler, M.; van Wezemael, J. Switzerland: Non-Profit Housing Sector—A Leader in Energy Efficiency Intiatives. In Energy Efficiency in Housing Management: Policies and Practice in Eleven Countries; Routledge: New York, NY, USA, 2012; pp. 133–150.
[59]
Das Geb？udeprogramm Homepage. Steht eine Erneuerung Ihrer Liegenschaft an? Available online: http://www.dasgebaeudeprogramm.ch (accessed on 19 June 2013).
[60]
Swiss Association of Architects and Engineers (SIA) Homepage. Available online: http://www.sia.ch (accessed on 14 January 2011).
[61]
Konferenz. Kontonaler. Energiedirecktore Homepage. Available online: http://www.endk.ch (accessed on 19 January 2011).
[62]
Minergie Homepage. Available online: http://www.minergie.ch (accessed on 14 January 2011).
[63]
Fachbeitraege: Branche. Bauen wir bald nach Minergie Zero? Available online: http://www.baublatt.ch/fachbeitraege/bau_branche/bauen-wir-bald-nach-minergie-zero# (accessed on 3 July 2012).
[64]
Swiss Network for Sustainable Construction Homepage. Available online: http://www.nnbs.ch (accessed on 1 June 2013).
[65]
SIA 112/1 Recommendation for Sustainable Building Construction. Published in 2004, the SIA Outlined Comprehensive Guidelines for Defining Sustainable Construction.
[66]
Swiss Energy Homepage. Available online: http://www.energieschweiz.ch (accessed on 19 June 2013).
[67]
Novatlantis, Sustainability at the ETH Domain Homepage. Available online: http://www.novatlantis.ch (accessed on 12 November 2010).
[68]
Swiss Federal Council. Sustainable Development Strategy, Guidelines and Action Plan 2008–2011, 16 April 2008. Available online: http://www.sib.admin.ch/uploads/media/Strategie_NE_08_en_02.pdf (accessed on 4 June 2013).
[69]
Swiss Federal Council. Sustainable Development Strategy 2012–2015, 25 January 2012. Available online: http://www.are.admin.ch/themen/nachhaltig/00262/00528/index.html?lang=en (accessed on 4 June 2013).
[70]
SIA Homepage. Fachzeitschriften. Available online: http://www.sia.ch/de/dienstleistungen/fachzeitschriften/ (accessed on 21 June 2013).
[71]
Guy, S.; Shove, E. A Sociology of Energy, Buildings and the Environment: Constructing Knowledge, Designing Practice; Routledge: London, UK, 2000; p. 21.
[72]
Erk, J. Swiss federalism and congruence. Natl. Ethn. Polit. 2003, 9, 50–74, doi:10.1080/13537110412331301415.
[73]
The City of Zürich Homepage. 2000-Watt Society. Available online: http://www.stadt-zuerich.ch/2000-watt-society (accessed on 19 June 2013).
[74]
Novatlantis Homepage. The 2000-Watt Society. Available online: http://www.novatlantis.ch/en/2000watt.html (accessed on 19 June 2013).
[75]
2000-Watt-Gesellschaft Homepage. Available online: http://www.2000watt.ch (accessed on 19 June 2013).
[76]
Genève à 2000 watts Homepage. Available online: http://www.geneve2000watts.ch/home.php (accessed on 19 June 2013).
[77]
Stulz, R. The 2000 Watt Society: Experiences in Zurich and Basel. Available online: http://www.energy-cities.eu/IMG/pdf/stulz_imagine.pdf (accessed on 13 July 2013).
[78]
Anecdotally, one interviewee, who was a qualified mechanical engineer, researcher and educator, even went so far as to self-finance a building project, hire a design team and implement his prototype system of integrated building technologies. However, according to both the project architect, and the energy modeler the introduction of atypical construction details was still a strong source of friction between the design team and the construction trades in terms of perceived liability, schedule and cost.
[79]
Borup, M.; Brown, N.; Konrad, K.; van Lente, H. The sociology of expectations in science and technology. Technol. Anal. Strateg. Manag. 2006, 18, 285–298, doi:10.1080/09537320600777002.
