Since the early 1940s in Sweden, subsidies have been a recurring feature in housing politics. Throughout history, these have been used as a management measure to control the construction of housing and to promote the Swedish welfare state. The political parties are today disagreeing on how much responsibility the state should carry for citizens housing. To solve the conflict, the dwelling has to be defined. Is the dwelling to be considered a social right, like education and healthcare or is the dwelling to be considered a product for the free market, driven by supply and demand? The positive population growth in Stockholm has lead to an increased demand for dwellings. The supply of dwellings has not been growing at the same rate, which has implied higher housing prices and longer wait for rented apartments. All municipalities in Stockholm agrees that more dwellings must be established to counter this development. To make this happen, the source of why so few dwelling develops today must be identified. Do the developers not want to build or are they not being provided land allocations by the municipalities? Is it a combination of these or are there other difficulties in the system? Subsidies have previously been used as a tool to increase the construction of dwellings and it should therefore be examined if such a solution is relevant in order to remedy existing problems. In an attempt to predict the outcome of a re-introduction of subsidies, the impact of past government intervention should be studied. This to ascertain what type of construction that took place at that time. It is also important to identify the types of dwellings sought for in today's housing market in order to develop appropriate solutions. There are several different forms of subsidies that could lead to an increased construction volume. Subsidies of land, infrastructure and investment contributions are some of the options that could be implemented on the market to reduce the housing shortage. But which type of construction should be increased? What kind of tenure is the society short of? In order to create balance in the housing market there seems to be a need for all types of tenures to increase, but not everyone agree to this. The housing market where demand, however, always exceeds supply today is the rental market, especially in central Stockholm where the system of rent regulations has lead to a rent level kept below market rent. Today rented apartments are at disadvantage in the Swedish tax system, which has contributed to a lower construction rate of this type of tenure compared to others where the developers gets a quicker return on their investment. Rented apartments are necessary on the housing market because it creates flexibility and contributes to the choices available for the individuals. Some say that Stockholm as a city can not grow without this tenure for the simple reason that people can not get hold of a dwelling. These are issues that must be solved through housing politics, which means that the decisions and rules on the market can change direction every four years. Construction processes are long, often longer than four years. This creates an uncertainty for the stakeholders in the housing market. To generate a sustainable housing market long-term, an alternative solution could be joint agreements spanning political borders. A well-functioning housing market contributes not only to shelter but also promotes welfare and economic growth. It is therefore of great importance that the market participants are moving in the same direction. / Sedan början på 1940-talet har subventioner varit ett återkommande inslag i den svenska bostadspolitiken. Genom historien har dessa använts som ett bostadspolitiskt medel för att styra byggandet av bostäder och för att främja den svenska välfärdsstaten. De politiska blocken är idag oense om hur stort ansvar staten ska bära för medborgarnas bostadsförsörjning. För att lösa oenigheten bör bostaden först definieras. Är bostaden att anse som en social rättighet liksom skola och sjukvård eller är bostaden att anse som en marknadsvara som styrs av utbud och efterfrågan på en öppen marknad? På grund av en positiv befolkningstillväxt i Storstockholm så har efterfrågan på bostäder blivit större. Resultatet av detta är längre bostadsköer och höjda bostadspriser, vilket tyder på att utbudet inte växer i samma takt som efterfrågan. För att motverka denna utveckling är samtliga kommuner i Stockholms län överens om att bostadsbyggandet måste öka. För att detta ska kunna ske måste källan till varför det inte byggs mer idag identifieras. Vill byggherrarna inte bygga eller ger kommunerna inte ut markanvisningar? Är det en kombination av dessa eller föreligger det även andra hinder i systemet? Subventioner har tidigare använts som ett verktyg för att öka byggandet vid bostadsbrist och därför bör det undersökas om en sådan lösning skulle vara aktuell idag för att råda bot på dagens problem. I ett försök att förutse resultatet av ett återinförande av subventioner, bör konsekvenser av tidigare offentliga åtgärder studeras. Detta för att få kännedom om vilken typ av byggande som skedde vid det aktuella tillfället. Det är också av vikt att ta reda på vilka typer av bostäder som efterfrågas på dagens bostadsmarknad i syfte att ta fram lämpliga lösningar. Det finns flera olika former av subventioner som skulle kunna leda till ett ökat byggande. Subventioner av mark, infrastruktur och direkta byggsubventioner är några av de alternativ som skulle kunna implementeras på marknaden för att minska bostadsbristen. Men vilket byggande är det som ska öka? Vilken upplåtelseform är det som det är brist på? För att skapa balans på bostadsmarknaden synes utbudet av alla upplåtelseformer behöva öka, men det är inte alla överens om. Den bostadsmarknad där efterfrågan dock ständigt överstiger utbudet är idag hyresmarknaden, speciellt i Stockholms innerstad där bruksvärdessystemet lett till att hyresnivån hålls under marknadshyra. Hyresrätten är idag en skattemässigt missgynnad upplåtelseform, vilket har bidragit till att färre bostäder av denna form har byggts i jämförelse med andra typer av bostäder där byggherrarna snabbare får avkastning på sin investering. Hyresrätten är dock nödvändig på marknaden då den bland annat skapar ett flexibelt boende och bidrar till valmöjlighet för individen. Idag säger vissa att Stockholm inte kan växa utan hyresrätten. Detta av den enkla anledningen att människor inte kan få tag i ett boende vilket hindrar inflyttning. Detta är frågor som måste lösas via bostadspolitik, vilket innebär att besluten och reglerna på marknaden kan ändra riktning vart fjärde år. Då byggprocesser är långa, ofta längre än fyra år så skapar risken för politiska förändringar en osäkerhet för aktörer på bostadsmarknaden. För att frambringa en långsiktigt hållbar bostadsmarknad skulle en alternativ lösning kunna vara ett politiskt blocköverskridande samarbete. En väl fungerande bostadsmarknad bidrar inte bara till tak över huvudet utan också till att främja välfärden och den ekonomiska tillväxten. Det är därför av stor vikt att marknadens aktörer rör sig i samma riktning.

Industrialized house builders strive towards structure and control of their processes, including design. Such structure is seldom sought for in architectural design practice, where individuality and autonomy are considered essential. This is causing a tension in the construction industry as industrialized house builders and architects strive to improve their collaboration. In this licentiate thesis, a first step towards better understanding this tension is taken by exploring different design approaches from a creativity perspective. The analytical framework builds on a theoretical conceptualization of design approach features, including design task, design process, design organization, and knowledge sharing. A creativity perspective is added using heuristic or algorithmic design tasks; divergent or convergent design processes; autonomy or imposed structure from the design organization; and sole designer or teamwork as the basis for knowledge sharing. This framework is used to analyze four empirically explored design approaches, two focusing on platform development and two focusing on project specific design. Three of these are explored using a case study approach, while the fourth is explored through interviews with multiple architects. The architectural design approach’s features seem likely to facilitate creativity: the design task is mainly heuristic; the design process enables divergence; and the architects have autonomy in how to go about the design process. However, they experience a lack of knowledge sharing, which could further facilitate creativity. The studied standardized design development approach has the opposite features: the design task is mainly algorithmic; the design process facilitates convergence; and there is a clear structure with instructions of how each subtask should be executed. Hence, this design approach is not likely to facilitate creativity (which was also not its intention). The structure has however improved the design team’s knowledge sharing, which is likely to facilitate creativity. The two platform development approaches have a mix of features. Both design tasks are more algorithmic than heuristic and creativity was not expected of the design results. The design processes are clearly convergent. While the house platform development team is multi-functional and work in close collaboration, the design automation platform developers’ knowledge sharing is based on communication with the client’s organization, thus not enabling as many perspectives on the designed product. The design automation platform developers use a support structure with process descriptions and methods to ensure quality, motivated by the variety of platforms that they develop on a regular basis. The house product platform developers on the other hand, were expected to develop only this one platform. Hence, they worked autonomously, using the teamwork setting to progress and converge in the process. In summary, the creative intention seems related to how design is approached. If creativity is sought for, the design task is heuristic, and divergence and autonomy is promoted. If creativity is not sought for, structure seem to facilitate other benefits such as reliability and quality control. Knowledge sharing could however be potentially beneficial in most design approaches. By understanding that different design approaches will influence creativity in different ways, a first step has been taken towards understanding why architects and industrialized house builders approach design differently.

Presently, within the human resource management (HRM) genre and including the construction management discipline, the identification and development of appropriate performance measures is seen as the only viable means for validating and engendering managerial excellence. There is also a growing awareness that appropriate predictive modelling practices can help engender the identification and development of these measures. Against the background that project-based sectors of the construction industry in developing countries need to adopt a proactive approach towards recognising and embedding performance measures in HRM practices, this thesis addresses the development of a model for predicting the performance of project managers (PMs) in mass house building projects (MHBPs) in Ghana. A literature review of the significance of performance measures in the HRM genre is first presented including an evaluation of the methodologies for measuring the performance of PMs. This is followed by a review of research and development in the management of human resources in the construction industry in developing countries including Ghana. Informed by the literature, an appropriate theoretical framework is adopted which draws on the organisational psychology theory of job performance, the conventional wisdom in project success criteria and an emerging framework of project lifecycle. Subsequently, a competency-based multidimensional conceptual model is developed. The conceptual model reflects both the elements of performance behaviours and outcomes in predicting the performance of PMs at the conceptual, design, tender, procurement, construction and operational phases of the project lifecycle. Adopting positivism as an appropriate research paradigm, structured questionnaire survey is used to elicit the relevant data from property developers in Ghana for the construction phase of the project lifecycle. Subsequently the data is analysed using one-sample t-test, factor analysis and multiple regression analysis (stepwise). From a broad range of competency-based measures used as independent variables, it is found that, the best predictors of the PMs’ performance at the “construction phase” of MHBPs are: job knowledge in site layout techniques for repetitive construction works; dedication in helping works contractors to achieve works programme; job knowledge of appropriate technology transfer for repetitive construction works; effective time management practices on the house-units; ability to provide effective solution to conflicts while maintaining good relationships; ease with which the PM is approachable by works contractors; and volunteering to help works contractors solve personal problems. These independent variables explained 74.4% of the variance in the model (at p < 0.0005). Validation of the model confirmed its goodness of fit and hence predictive accuracy. The findings suggest that at the construction phase of MHBPs, PMs who exhibit these behavioural competencies are likely to achieve higher levels of performance. Accordingly, PMs who aspire to achieve better managerial performance outcome on MHBPs should strive towards developing and improving these competencies. It is contended that the developed model could be used by property developers for the selection and recruitment of potential PMs and also for developing appropriate training requirements towards best practice improvement in the implementation of MHBPs. While the study focuses on Ghana, there is the potential for the model to be adopted for use by other developing countries towards the advancement of improved HRM activities in project management practice.

This research explores the business case for sustainability as experienced by small and medium sized, house building construction companies in the UK and Sweden. The authors investigate what benefits, if any, these businesses have gained from adopting environmental and socially responsible business practices. The authors also set out to understand the barriers and drivers influencing the companies in respect of sustainability. The purpose of the thesis was to help sustainability practitioners in their work with the sector. The research had three separate strands of investigation; interviewing industry experts who had wide experience of the sector; interviews with companies that had some relevant experiences; and a detailed survey was sent to companies asking them to rate their experiences to date and estimate their future expectation on sustainability issues. The findings were collated, analyzed and an overview of the benefits, barriers and drivers for the sector were discussed. A sector specific strategic approach to dealing with the companies was presented for use by the practitioners.

During the past years, wooden one and two family houses showed a higher growth rate on the German construction market compared to conventional material like brick and stone. Wood as construction material became more and more attractive. Furthermore, a growing demand on multifamily houses could be recognized, yet, wood has not been considered as an alternative in this field of application until now. Trying to understand the end-users attitudes towards wooden multifamily houses, this licentiate thesis aims at exploring German end-users’ perceptions of wooden multifamily houses. To collect the necessary data, the Association Pattern Technique (APT) was applied, which is a two-stage method and has its foundations in the Means-End theory. In the first stage, 31 in-depth laddering interviews were carried out, which served as the base for the matrix-survey in the second stage, where 229 answers were received. Extending the existing method in the matrix-survey stage allowed for important additional data to be uncovered. The results show that individuals associate certain product attributes with wooden multifamily houses and that these attributes are thought to entail specific consequences. These consequences are in turn linked with the personal values of the respondents. The most dominant perceptual orientations of different groups of respondents are shown and significant differences could be found in how individuals in German perceive wooden multifamily houses depending on age, income and habitation.

This diploma thesis deals with the determination of the difference between the cost of the holiday cottage and the holiday house of the same size located in the Highlands. At the beginning the thesis explains the basic concepts associated with the valuation of the real estates, the definition of the basic measuring units and the description of the most commonly used methods of valuation of real estates. In the practical part of the thesis there is the selected building for individual recreation always located in the built and unbuilt area of the village. The building for individual recreation is located in three areas, namely ‘Strážek’, ‘Bystřice nad Pernštejnem’ and ‘Žďár nad Sázavou’. The price is determined by the regulation and it is set including the landscaping, land and permanent crops. In conclusion the thesis describes the difference between the same building for individual recreation located in the different areas of the Highlands and evaluates the suitability of the techniques used for valuation of the holiday cottage and the holiday house according to the regulation

This thesis is deals with design of a Senior’s Boarding House in Lomnicka u Tisnova. Building four-storey building with one service basement floor with This thesis deals with a design of a retirement home in Lomnicka u Tisnova. This is a four storey building with one service basement floor and with a flat roof. The structural system is of a transverse wall type. Material of structural elements is a combination of reinforced concrete and masonry. The building is founded on piles. In addition, the design includes a restaurant for warming and serving food prepared in different place, laundry and a small pool. All construction drawings and schedules has been developed as building information model (BIM).

I samarbete med Skanska Sverige AB, Region Hus Stockholm Bostäder har detta examensarbete upprättats. Examensarbetet handlar om bedömning och uppföljning av de allmänna kostnaderna, (AK), inom regionen.  Inom husbyggnation är de allmänna kostnaderna en del av projektets totalkostnad och är i de flesta fall svåra att beräkna. Delar av Region Hus Stockholm Bostäder har arbetat med att ta fram erfarenhetsvärden och nyckeltal, för att få ökade kunskaper om AK i projekten och därigenom underlätta bedömningarna för prissättning i kommande projekt. Syftet är att försöka bidra till högre produktivitet genom att göra bättre bedömning, uppföljning och erfarenhetsåterföring med hjälp rekommendationer. Målet är ta fram en generell beskrivning av en rekommenderad arbetsrutin som ska ha en ”best practice” funktion för framtida arbeten.  Materialet som detta examensarbete baseras på är en sammanställning av intervjuer med olika personer inom Skanska Sverige AB, inom Region Hus Stockholm Bostäder och Region Hus Stockholm Kommersiellt. Jämförelse görs mellan bostadsprojekt inom regionerna. Information har även hämtats från litteratur och Skanskas hemsida. Arbetsrutinerna inom regionen varierar till viss del. Beräkning av AK görs på samma sätt över regionen, dock är uppföljningen personlig och varierande i strukturen under produktionsskedet. Detta gör att i dagsläget är arbetet personberoende och inte processberoende. Rekommendationerna presenteras i form av en arbetsbeskrivning och en erfarenhetsåterföringsmodell. Arbetsbeskrivningen omfattar de viktigaste delarna i arbetet med AK under anbudsskedet, produktionsskedet samt vid projektavslut. Erfarenhetsåterföringsmodellen behandlar hur de befintliga erfarenheterna kan återföras i företaget. Vidare förelås även en utveckling av projektstyrningsverktyget SPIK att agera som informationsbärare för att kunna ta sammanställa säkrare nyckeltal samt en stabil erfarenhetsbank. Vidare förelås även ytterligare utveckling av projektstyrningsverktyget SPIK, för att agera som informationsbärare och därefter kunna ta sammanställa säkrare nyckeltal samt en stabil erfarenhetsbank. / This thesis was established in collaboration with Skanska Sweden AB, Region Hem Stockholm Bostäder. The thesis deals with the assessment and monitoring of the general costs in the region. AK is a part of the project's total cost in house building and is in most cases difficult to estimate. Parts of the Region House Stockholm Homes have been working to develop empirical values and key performance indicators, to gain greater knowledge of the general costs in the projects, thereby facilitating the estimation of pricing in future projects. It aims to contribute to higher productivity by making better assessment, monitoring and feedback with recommendations. The goal is to develop a general description of a recommended practice is to have a "best practice" function for future works. This thesis is based on material from a compilation of interviews with various people at Skanska Sweden AB, Region Hus Stockholm Bostäder and Region Hus Stockholm Kommersiellt. Comparison is made between the housing construction projects in the regions. Information was also gathered from literature and Skanska´s website. The working procedures within the region vary to some degree. Calculation of the general costs is similar across the region; however the follow-up is personal and vary in process during the production phase. This means that in the current situation is the work is depending on individuals rather than process. The recommendations are presented in the form of a job description and an experience feedback model. The job description includes the main elements in the work of the general costs during the tendering stage, production stage and at project completion. The model for experience feedback addresses how existing experience can be brought back into to the company. Furthermore, it is proposed also a development of the project management tool SPIK to act as an information carrier, and with it produce more reliable key performance indicators and create a solid bank of experiences.

<p>During the past years, wooden one and two family houses showed a higher growth rate on the German construction market compared to conventional material like brick and stone. Wood as construction material became more and more attractive. Furthermore, a growing demand on multifamily houses could be recognized, yet, wood has not been considered as an alternative in this field of application until now. Trying to understand the end-users attitudes towards wooden multifamily houses, this licentiate thesis aims at exploring German end-users’ perceptions of wooden multifamily houses.</p><p>To collect the necessary data, the Association Pattern Technique (APT) was applied, which is a two-stage method and has its foundations in the Means-End theory. In the first stage, 31 in-depth laddering interviews were carried out, which served as the base for the matrix-survey in the second stage, where 229 answers were received. Extending the existing method in the matrix-survey stage allowed for important additional data to be uncovered.</p><p>The results show that individuals associate certain product attributes with wooden multifamily houses and that these attributes are thought to entail specific consequences. These consequences are in turn linked with the personal values of the respondents. The most dominant perceptual orientations of different groups of respondents are shown and significant differences could be found in how individuals in German perceive wooden multifamily houses depending on age, income and habitation.</p>

In recent years, industrialised house building has gained shares on the Swedish house building market. The market demands for industrialised house building are exceeding the available supply of housing and experiencing a substantial increase in the housing production costs. For industrialised house building, the design has been identified as a critical phase with the systematization of the design a necessary part of industrialisation. Therefore, companies strive towards the inclusion of standardization and controlled processes in the design phase. Product platforms have proved to be related to the standardization of processes and products. Introducing a product platform approach in the design phase of house building could be a way to improve the design and ensure value creation in entire processes. Thus, the aim of this research is to outline means to support and improve the design phase of industrialised house building by using a product platform approach. A Swedish multi-storey house building company that uses glulam post and beam building system with a focus on platform development was used as the single case study in this research. The company intends to achieve increased efficiency by moving towards industrialized approaches. Empirical data were mainly gathered from interviews, observations, workshops, and document analysis. The findings present the existing challenges in the housing building industry and outlines twenty critical success factors that need to be considered in the design phase. Also, the result outlines support methods and tools that can be used for the improvement of the design phase when applying a product platform approach. Moreover, a flexible product platform can be developed with the support of parametric modelling and used to design building components having an engineer-to-order characteristic. Finally, the results show that a building system can be considered as part of a product platform in light of the necessity of an adequate support in the design process to maintain a sustainable platform. Thus, the contribution includes the addition of knowledge to platform theory in general and its application on the design phase of industrialised house building. / Under de senaste åren har det industriella husbyggandet tagit andelar på den svenska husbyggnadsmarknaden. Behovet av bostäder på marknaden överstiger tillgången och med ökning av bostadsproduktionskostnaderna som konsekvens. För det industriella husbyggandet har projekteringen identifierats som en avgörande fas och dess systematisering är en nödvändig för industrialiseringen. Som en följd strävar företag i segmentet efter att inkludera standardisering och kontrollerade processer i projekteringen. Produktplattformar har kunnat kopplas till standardisering av processer och produkter. Införandet av produktplattformar i projekteringen kan vara ett sätt att förbättra designen och säkra värdeskapandet igenom hela processen. Således är syftet i denna avhandling att ta fram medel för att stödja och förbättra projekteringen för industriellt husbyggande genom att tillämpa en ansats med produktplattformar. Ett svenskt byggnadsföretag med flera våningar som använder limträ- och balksystem med fokus på plattformsutveckling användes som en enda fallstudie i denna forskning. En fallstudie har genomförts på ett företag som bygger flervåningshus med ett pelar-balksystem i limträ med fokus på plattformsutveckling. Företaget har ambitionen att nå högre effektivitet genom att röra sig mot ett mer industriellt tillvägagångssätt. Data samlades in från intervjuer, observationer, workshops och dokumentanalyser. Resultaten visar vilka de befintliga utmaningarna är för husbyggandet och presenterar tjugo kritiska framgångsfaktorer som ska beaktas i projekteringen. Studien har även tagit fram supportmetoder och verktyg som kan användas för att förbättra projekteringen vid tillämpning av produktplattformar. Vidare, en flexibel produktplattform kan utvecklas med stöd av parametrisk modellering och användas för att projektera byggnads-komponenter med engineer-to-orderegenskaper. Slutligen, resultaten pekar mot att ett byggsystem kan betraktas som en del av en produktplattform ur perspektivet att tillräckligt med stöd i projekteringen krävs för att underhålla en hållbar plattform. Således, arbetet har bidragit med kunskap till teori om plattformar i allmänhet och dess tillämpning på projekteringen för industriellt husbyggande.