(In)visible reuse: Retrofit and refurbishment practices in the home

The construction sector is the world's largest consumer of raw materials, and emissions from housing and construction contribute to approximately 40% of all annual global carbon dioxide emissions. With cities racing to meet their climate targets, there is an urgency to understand how to extend the lifespan of current building stock while adapting it to meet environmental sustainability targets. However, determining (and lengthening) the lifespan of a building is not self-evident, it extends far beyond the material’s lifetime, into factors such as economic utility, functionality, cultural significance, sentimental value and political movements. In residential buildings, it is often ‘invisible’ how inhabitants use, renovate and extend the lifespan of their living quarters. The changes that are made in their dwelling are not recorded centrally, and yet, when aggregated across a region, they can have a significant impact on the ability of the built environment to meet local climate targets. In particular, this is the case for renovation that improves thermal efficiency (e.g. insulation, window glazing). Our survey “Panel Lémanique” targets 10,000 households of the “region Lémanique” in Switzerland with questions about household practices in relation to material and energy renovation of their dwellings. In this presentation, I would like to present a preliminary analysis of the data collected from respondents of the survey. I will explore the invisible’ patterns in renovation practices of households, by broadly addressing the question: How do households adapt their dwelling through reuse and renovation practises?