Barriers to climate adaptation in Norwegian building projects – Insights from moisture safety designers’ perspective

Abstract

To reduce the escalating maintenance costs for the Norwegian building stock, adapting new building designs to future climate changes becomes necessary. Currently, climate adaptation of moisture safety design by considering future climate loads is not mandatory in the Norwegian building code. This forces building designers to choose between adhering to existing standards and guidelines or investing additional efforts in adapting the building design to future climate change, at higher initial costs and with uncertain long-term benefits. This study aims to analyze the perceptions of Norwegian building physicists of future climate risks and their capacity to influence adaptation efforts in new construction projects. A thematic analysis of 15 semi-structured interviews with Norwegian building physicists from multiple companies and different regions of Norway is presented. The respondents recognize the need to adapt building designs to account for future climate loads more effectively; however, they lack the requisite influence and tools to implement the same. They look to authorities to establish requirements, and research institutes to develop tools that enable them to effectively fulfil their roles. Significant barriers for climate adaptation in building projects include lack of support from other project stakeholders, unavailability of efficient tools based on qualitative risk assessment for addressing climate adaptation, and insufficient focus on climate adaptation in building codes and guidelines. Development of methods for implementing climate adaptation in moisture safety design must reflect this, and quick-to-use robusteness assessment frameworks that treats these uncertainties in a non-quantitative manner are needed.