Furthering sustainable building or not? Discussing contractors' reflections on a sustainable building pilot project

Governmental initiatives in Sweden that aim to support the shift towards a more sustainable building stock are frequently organized as pilot (or demonstration) projects. Pilot projects have been suggested to provide platforms for learning, where for example communication can be enhanced across actors and domains, and changes in practices can be supported. However, they have also been associated with a limited diffusion of project outcomes to mainstream practice as well as difficulties fulfilling project intentions and demands regarding sustainability. In an on-going study of a pilot project for the planning and design of a housing area in a sub-arctic environment, the advancement in the understanding and use of sustainable building practices in a sustainable building pilot project is explored. Interviews were conducted with representatives of the five local contractors that participated in the pilot project, addressing their retrospective descriptions and reflections from a personal and an organizational viewpoint. In keeping with earlier sustainable building research, the project initiators' intention was to develop a shared and holistic understanding of sustainable building. Multiple stakeholders were invited to participate and during interviews the cooperation among contractors was generally put forth as a positive pilot project experience. However, our findings expose tensions between sustainable building intentions and sustainable building as operationalized in the pilot project. Three types of barriers to the advancement of the understanding and use of sustainable building practices are recognised: a skewed balance of sustainability domains; neglect of local context; and a skewed balance of stakeholder perspectives. While intangible pilot project outcomes such as these are commonly neglected, their further study could provide valuable insights into the advancement of sustainable building. Acknowledging the complexity of defining and applying sustainable building, we also propose that more attention should be paid to managing stakeholders' multiple and conflicting views in sustainable building projects.