This bachelor thesis examines and compares the differences between the functional requirements according to accessibility that exist in the construction and design for a single-family dwelling in Sweden, compared to the US state of Minnesota. During the construction of a single-family dwelling there is a building legislation that both Sweden and Minnesota need to consider and follow. Accessibility is one of the areas that is affected by the building legislation. The building legislations for Sweden and Minnesota differ as Minnesota as a state does not have any requirements for accessibility adaptation for single-family dwellings. Sweden on the other hand requires that all new buildings, extensions, and reconstructions meet accessibility requirements and standards.   The building legislations for Sweden and Minnesota and their differences are presented in this bachelor thesis by depicting the countries view on accessibility for a single-family dwelling, and how this subject is reflected in the legislation that Sweden and Minnesota have.   A comparison between two floor plans has been done, where one floor plan is from a Swedish house manufacturer and the other one from a house manufacturer in Minnesota. There is also an investigation into how accessibility is considered in floor plans, and how they relate to the relevant building legislation. The floor plans have been weighed against each other, and analyzed whether they would be approved based on requirements and conditions in each country. The differences in the building legislation showed that the Swedish floor plan would be approved in Minnesota, while the floor plan designed for individuals without disabilities in Minnesota, on the other hand, would not be approved in Sweden.   The facts that have been obtained were considered in the design of an alternative floor plan in the Revit software. A single-family dwelling has been developed based on both Sweden´s and Minnesota´s building legislation according to accessibility. A result of a single-family dwelling with approved accessibility in both countries is presented in this thesis.

The building and property sector stands for one third of the final energy usage in Sweden and this should be diminished, in order to reach goals within environmental sustainability. Glass is a poor thermal insulator but nevertheless a popular choice of material when constructing new buildings. The contradiction between need of energy efficiency and the wish for “glass buildings” led to the subject of this report. This Bachelor’s thesis examines how demands on energy efficiency is met in nine glass buildings in Stockholm. Glass buildings and the current legislation is discussed from a perspective of environmental sustainability. This was done by investigating the demands stated by Boverket from a historical perspective, executing quantitative measurements of heat transfer on elected objects, and interviewing stakeholders linked to the buildings and the Swedish legislation. The study shows that the construction of glass buildings has been possible due to a restructuring of the demands on energy efficiency and technical development. It was found, in most cases, that the shares of glass were in fact lower than apparent. A larger share of glass in the building envelope required creative measures to achieve energy solutions, within legislative demands. Nevertheless, the inlet of solar radiation heat is the greatest challenge. Despite the challenges, the desire for glass is rooted in well-being and aesthetic values, which insinuate that glass buildings will be included in the cityscape henceforth. The conclusions drawn from these results are that the energy performance of glass buildings is still weaker than conventional “solid wall buildings”. Enhancement regarding insulation abilities and improvements of excluding solar radiation must be realized to strengthen the environmental sustainability of this category of buildings. / Bygg- och fastighetssektorn står för en tredjedel av den slutliga energianvändningen i Sverige, vilken måste minimeras för att nå miljömässiga hållbarhetsmål. Att bygga i glas är populärt bland moderna byggnader, trots att glas har relativt låg termisk isolationsförmåga. Motsättningen mellan behovet av energieffektivitet och efterfrågan på “glashus” skapade ämnet för denna rapport. Detta kandidatexamensarbete utforskar hur energieffektivitetskrav möts i nio olika glasbyggnader i Stockholm. Glashus och nuvarande lagstiftning diskuteras ur ett miljömässigt hållbarhetsperspektiv. Detta gjordes genom undersökningar av Boverkets krav ur ett historiskt perspektiv, kvantitativa mätningar av värmeflöden, samt intervjuer med aktörer kopplade till byggnaderna och svensk bygglagstiftning. Studien visar att byggnation av glashus har blivit möjlig på grund av en omstrukturering av energieffektivitetskraven samt teknisk utveckling. Det visade sig att andelen glas i de undersökta byggnaderna oftast var lägre än det såg ut. Större andel glas i klimatskalet krävde kreativa åtgärder för att uppnå energilösningar inom lagstiftningen. Det visade sig också att solinstrålning var den största energiutmaningen för glasbyggnaderna. Trots utmaningarna finns värden anknutna till estetik och välmående som skapar en efterfrågan på glashus, och detta leder till att glashus fortfarande kommer inkluderas i stadsmiljön framöver. En slutsats från arbetet är att energiprestandan i glasbyggnader är svagare än för konventionella “tätväggsbyggnader”. Förbättringar av glaskonstruktionen gällande isolationsförmåga och utestängning av värme från solinstrålning måste realiseras för att stärka den miljömässiga hållbarheten för denna byggnadskategori.